


Cold as ice, sharp as needles

by MurderInk



Series: Clover [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: A bit of PrusRom, Antonio is not stupid, Bulgaria has feelings tbh, Bulgaria is being stoic, Canada is cute, Confused Romania, Feliciano is not useless, Francis is not a rapist, Lovino is in denial, M/M, Oblivious Alfred, Prussia is a sweetie, Punk Uk, Punk!Arthur, RoBul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurderInk/pseuds/MurderInk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. School's boring, right? Well, not anymore. Having crazy friends like Gilbert, Francis and Antonio, school has become a pleasure. Vlad's only problem's his neighbour, a stoic Bulgarian guy, who ruins his fun any time he can. They hate each other, until one day when one of them discovers something more terrifying: Love. Or is it just lust? Stay close and find out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

School is boring. Ok, that's not something you never heard or never said at least once in your life. Everyone says it and thinks about it. That's why I am not that enthusiastic about going to school today. A new school on top of it, in a new town and in a whole new country. Though, isn't it?

Oh, it seems that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Vladimir Lupei, I am 16 years old and I am Romanian. I am not tall, but not small either, you could say I am the average teen boy. My hair is strawberry blonde in the summer and almost brown in the winter. Red sea surrounds my pupils, and most of my ex-classmates thought that was strange. My skin is pale, maybe too pale for someone who's supposed to be alive, but that's how it is. I look slim, but actually have some muscles, not too noticeable at first sight, but they exist. One thing I can say and that is that I move around a lot, so I never get to have friends.

That day was rainy, cold and some would say gloomy, but it didn't bother me. I kind of liked 'gloomy' weather, because sun was shining way too bright, especially in my homeland. But here, in England, there was a whole different story, temperatures were cooler here than in Romania or so I heard. I wasn't fully sure of it, since I had moved only a month ago.

It was September 1st. The first day of school. The day when the nightmares unleash themselves from their dark closets. The beginning and also the end. I never liked school. And I knew I wasn't the only one who thought like that. But why? What makes school to be so boring, so hated. I've changed schools so many times I can't even count them.

At first I thought it was because of the whole idea of studying and for some, it sure was this way. But not for me. I liked studying, without being a nerd, not that the others believed me anyway. Maybe it was because of the teachers, but that would be dumb, right? There are nice teachers, but still I never felt like going to my classes. There was one thing left. It was the classmates. Or at least that was my reason. I moved around a lot and never had friends. Also, I have never found anyone worth trying to befriend. To me, they looked the same. They played the same games, watched the same movies, listened to the same musicians. They dressed alike and their hair was alike. They had no personality, no hobbies (excluding TV with the 5 o'clock news, going out, eating seeds like there was no tomorrow) and they didn't tolerate anyone who was different. So I was bullied. Or ignored. But never understood. In their eyes, I was an alien, a freak. I like rock, while they didn't, they listened only "manele"*, a genre of music so pathetic it makes my ears bleed. You wouldn't want to listen to it either, amice**! But I'll tell you about my past later, because now I have bigger problems.

Clover. An amazing city in an amazing country. At least that's how it seems. It's clean, big and has a lot of interesting buildings. Gorgeous architecture, at least that's what I think. And despite of it being quite big, it has a lot of green space. Actually, St. Andrew, the high-school I will be attending from now on, is on top of a hill and you could reach it by car, but I heard that most of the students prefer to take a walk. No matter what, I will do it because I am a nature-lover or something among the lines.

The road to school is nice so far. I stretch my hand, as if to catch the rain drops that are falling lazily from the sky. The tall trees attenuates the rain and I don't feel like I should keep the umbrella opened, so I close it. The air was fresh and I couldn't feel better...or I would have.

I know I was going to get to my destination soon and I start to feel a bit uneasy. What if they won't like me? What if I get bullied again? I hate this. This fear. I am no coward, no pansy. I inhale deeply and take another step, a firm one just to prove myself I can do it. I can start brand new and maybe I won't get friends, but I will not be hated. I have to do it. To prove myself I am not worthless.

And while I was busy with my thoughts I haven't realised I arrived school. The campus is large, filled with groups of students. They wore no uniform, and I heard the principal didn't want to introduce something like that, because it would ruin one's chance to discover oneself. I don't know about that. I never minded uniform, although sometimes I found it useless because no one actually played by the rules, and those who did, well those were "tocilari" or nerds, in English.

Today I wore a white blouse and black trousers. I had dragged along a trench coat with me in case I would be cold and now it is hanging on my shoulders casually. The plan was simply. I had to look cool, but not as in stand-out, a little elegant and casual. Very casual so that I could be taken as friendly. Also, I have to act like this. Careless, bright, funny and why not...sarcastic! I exercised a lot this summer, making scenarios in my head, or in frond of a mirror.

As far as I know, my classroom should be at the ground floor. I don't quite know how English have their studies. Especially on the first day of a year. In Romania you never had classes on the first day. You meet with your classmates, chat about the summer holiday, then meet the teachers who handed you the books and the timetable. Then you were off to wherever you felt like going. It can be too different, can't it?

I was spacing out, too worried about school and I ended up dumping into someone, tucking that person to the ground. La naiba!*** I looked up, trying to keep my carefree face, but also I knew I looked a bit sorry, or at least I hoped so. The victim, or so to say, was a male but I wasn't sure of it. He had shoulder-length blonde hair, violet eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. He looked a bit scared and uneasy. I stood up quickly and reached my hand so he could grab it, smiling at the same time. His eyes looked unsure up to me for a while then he grabbed my hand.

"I am really, really sorry!" I said as I got him up. He looked around scared. "Look, I didn't mean it..." I started to feel bad, almost like a bully. That's when he actually turned to look at me. He was more surprised than scared now.

"Y-you can see me?" he asked in English but his accent was definitely not English. I threw him a confused gaze.

"Excuse me?" I rose an eyebrow at him. "Am I not supposed to see you? Are you a g-ghost?" I asked mentally slapping myself for stuttering.

"Hah? N-no. It's just..." but he didn't have the time to finish his sentence, because he was interrupted by someone.

"Hiya there, dude!" the other teen said. He had dusty blonde hair with an ahoge sticking up and baby-blue eyes. He was wearing glasses as well, but he was tall, muscular and wore a bomber jacket. Beneath, he had T-shirt or so I thought with the American flag. He had navy blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. "So, what's up?" he asked smiling brightly at me. I stared back at him and smiled as well, and when I was ready to answer him he started laughing. But he wasn't laughing at me and I turned my head to look what was behind me. "Oh, gotta go, dude. Talk to ya later!" and he left me.

"Who was that?" I asked my "victim". He smiled softly, almost sad.

"Alfred F. Jones. Don't worry, he's always been like that," he said scratching his head with his index. "I am Matthew Williams," he introduced himself shyly and he reached his hand over to me.

"I am Vladimir Lupei. Nice to meet you!" I said back and took his hand, shaking it. "And I'm really sorry about earlier," I said smiling like an idiot.

"I'm used to it. They never see me anyway..." his words trailed off, a bit bitter but his smile never left his features.

"So that's why you asked me if I could see you!" it was more like talking to myself but he nodded. "That's just mean!" I said feeling anger building up in me.

"Not really. It's my fault too. Look, it's a long story and we don't have too much time. By the way...what class do you have now?" he asked as he started walking.

"History. You?" I caught up with him taking big playful steps. He turned to look at me.

"The same," and we left together.

The classroom was spacious, had three rows of desks. I liked to seat by the window, and fortunately there was a desk left. I sat down, Matthew on the other row, first desk, the one in the middle. I waved at him from the third seat and he smiled back shyly.

"Is this seat free?" weird accent. My eyes fell on the guy who asked me. He had dark hair and fair skin, green eyes.

"Yup," I said nodding and he sat near me. "I'm Vladimir Lupei!"

"Hmm..?" He turned to face me. "Ah. Aleksander Balakov," No shaking hands, no smile, but a bored look.

"Are you Russian?" I asked out of curiosity, thing which I could never hold back.

"No. Bulgarian," he said not even bothering to look at me.

"Hah! That's cool. I've visited Bulgaria once. It was nice," I said looking at the whiteboard almost daydreaming. "I'm from Romania," I continued.

"I know," he said still not looking at me. That's when I felt like giving up and moving to another desk but that's when the bell rang and the teacher entered quickly after, closing the door.

"Good afternoon, students!" he greeted us and we did greet him in return. He had brown hair and brown eyes and he wore a suit. "My name is Romulus Vargas, for those who don't know and I'll be your history teacher this year," he said.

After that he told us what books we needed and then he started to talk about different eras. I was tapping my desk with a pen thinking about how life must have been a long time ago. I liked story. No, scratch that. I love history and Mr. Vargas seemed fond of it as well, for he was speaking as if he were there and lived for a long time.

The hour passed too quickly. Or so I thought. As soon as the bell rang we gathered our stuff and left the room. I knew I had Art, another thing I loved.

The hallway was large as well, but it was cold and dark, having big windows but that didn't help at all. At least on in that block, because sun never seemed to shine over there. I saw students go and students leave and somehow I felt left out. Did I really belong in there? No. I was a stranger.

"You look lost, mon ami!" someone spoke next to me. I turned to look at the person and our eyes met. "Are you a stranger, perhaps?" he asked cocking his blonde eyebrow at me.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"No worry, zhen. I'll show you around," he told me. I wasn't a linguist but I could bet on anything he was French.

"Are you from France, by any chance?" again. My curiosity was something unstoppable.

"Ohonhonhonhon. Indeed, mon ami! I am from France!" he said grinning at me. What a strange way to laugh!

"Frog, leave the kid alone. Don't you see you scared him with your disgusting frog-face!" finally, British accent. "Don't mind him. He is nust," the Brit said. He was almost as tall as me, maybe a few centimeters taller. He had blonde hair, lime-green eyes and fair skin. Also, he had bushy black eyebrow and he was dressed in a light-brown shirt and black trousers.

"He wasn't scared until you came along," the French guy said slightly annoyed.

"Oh, I bet on my afternoon tea he bloody scared actually!" and they started to argue. I tried to stop them but they didn't even listen to me. And so the mess started. The Brit had his hands around the Frog's neck vise versa. Soon other joined as well. Some of them were telling them to stop, while others cheered on them to go on.

"Oh, what's up, dudes?" that was the Bomber Jacket Guy from earlier, whose name I forgot. He looked at me. "What did Frog do this time? Hmmm...?" he asked me as if I would know. I shrugged and thought maybe it was a common thing between those two. "Oh, Big-Brows, dude, what's goin' on?" he interrupted those two and finally the Brit payed attention to someone.

"He scared the newbie with his disgusting frog-face!" he explained waving his hands like a desperate bird.

"I did not! He'z fantazizing!" the French guy replied furiously.

"The newbie? What newbie?" Bomber Jacket asked looking around as if he were searching for someone. Was he dumb or what?

"I am the newbie!" I said frowning and he laughed. I thought I was careless but that guy was really weird.

"Oh, is that so? That sounds cool. Do you like hamburgers?" Bomber Jacket asked.

"I guess so..." I said. "Why do you ask?" I asked.

"Because I love them,umm..what was your name?" I practically face-palmed. Seeing him looking so bright while being so dumb was actually funny but I was not in the mood for it right then.

"Vladimir Lupei," I introduced myself again. It was true I forgot his name, but I didn't bother to ask him again. Eventually I will remember or if not then..."Nu ştiu."****

The bell rang and we had no choice but go to our classes. I hear the Brit scolding Bomber Jack about skipping classes and the Frog complaining to someone else about how rude some dude called Arthur was. I shrugged. Bomber Jack sounded fine. Maybe I shall call him Jack. Yeah, Jack would do. As for Frog...I don't really understand. Even Jack called him that so maybe that was his name. Kind of silly, but oh well...

At Art I found myself staying next to a strange guy. He had brown hair and a curl on the left side of his head. He was a bit taller than me and he seemed very girly. He had his eyes almost closed the whole time, so I didn't get to look at his eye colour. What an airhead!

"Ciao, my name's Feliciano," he said. I could recognize his accent. He was Italian! What a strange school, there were so many foreigners! I smiled at him not sure if he even saw me and I told him my name.

"Oh, from Romania, I guess?" he said smiling and I nodded, again not sure if he could see me or not. "That sounds incredibile!" He clapped his hands happily. "Do you have pasta there?" he asked and I chuckled. It seemed that everyone was quite weird and obsessed with food.

"Yup. But I bet it can't be compared to the real thing," I laughed.

The rest of the class went smoothly. The teacher told us what materials we should bring and she started talking about Van Gogh, but I wasn't listening. So far, the day was going well. At some point I wondered about Matthew, but then my thoughts flew to another mystery: Aleksander Balakov. He was so uptight and indifferent I thought I was going to be ignored here as well. But my worries died as soon as I met Feliciano. Feliciano was a nice guy, actually. He was 16 as well and he loved painting and such. We talked about Art and about food, especially pasta. Normally I would have been annoyed, but he was so sweet and honest while talking about pasta that I couldn't help and get excited too. One conclusion: Italians are contagious.

I felt bad that we had to part after the end of the class, but he had to meet with some friend of his, someone called Ludwig...I guess. I've always been bad at remembering names. They just didn't remain in my mind if I had no interest in the person.

Third class: Maths. I hate Maths with all my soul and mind. I just don't get numbers. Everything goes by the rules and for me, rules are horrible. And there was this thing that I was left handed and saw things backwards. Especially numbers. I could be thinking about number "64" but when I open my mouth to say it, it turns out "46" and I don't even realise if someone's not correcting me. When I was younger it was even worse, but that's a whole different story...

I dragged my feet across the hall, hunching my back even worse than the hunch back of Notre Dame. My back felt heavy, my whole body did. It was like I was carrying the whole school all alone. Maybe you think I was exaggerating, but that's truly how I felt. For all the Maths haters out there, you should know what I am talking about.

I was at the first floor and luckily I got a window seat. What wasn't lucky at all was that I sat next to Aleksander who was just as frigid as before. Cool! The only seat free was next to him and I didn't want to stay around him. He was just too creepy for me to understand. I gulped as I sat down.

"Hey, do you like Maths?" I asked trying to open a conversation. I just couldn't keep my mouth shut. That's who I was, who I am and who I'll be. Green orbs met mine in a rather intense stare. For a couple of moments I thought he wasn't going to answer and I wanted to look away, but he did answer in the end.

"Yes," that was all and he turned to look in the classroom. No question like "what about you?" or "why?". No. I felt completely ignored and somehow I felt the urge to tease him. Bad.

"That explains a lot," I said and scoffed. I didn't like to be mean, but I felt like he wanted me to be.

"What do you mean by that?" he immediately said turning to look at me. He narrowed his eyes dangerously as if saying: "I dare you to say something bad about me and I'll punch you in the face." Suddenly, I felt my lips curling in a grin.

"Oh, nothing..." I said biting my lower lip. "Only that..." I snickered and he glared at me. Mr. Uptight was going to be fun to tease.

"Do you have something against Maths?" he asked frowning, slightly getting his face closer to mine as in a demand. I flashed him another grin, but without showing him my teeth fully.

"And what if I do?" I stuck my tongue out and he backed away, almost disgusted. "What?" I went after him totally forgetting about acting nice and such.

"Go away. You are disgusting," he said trying to pull me away, but that only made me more sadistic.

"Is that so?" I asked gazing intensely at him and he tried to get away from me again. He was on the verge of falling when I caught his arm and dragged him back. He gasped in surprise and I would have done the same. What was wrong with me? Acting all nasty and teasingly with someone I barely knew? "S-sorry!" I said and got up. "I am deeply sorry, Aleksander," I bowed in an apologetic way and he looked at me surprised.

"It's ok, Lupei," he said trying to calm me down.

"Usually I am not acting so rude and mean. I don't know...what's gotten into me," I looked away while saying all that. Somehow I was embarrassed.

"It's fine. Moving to another country and another school must be though. No one can act calm," he said and I looked at him. The same frigid expression. The same icy green eyes. But his tone wasn't glacial like before. It was not friendly either. You could say he was more like indifferent. Or so I thought.

"Yeah, I guess..." and the rest of the time I said nothing but stared at the whiteboard. I had no idea what the teacher said and I didn't even care. My mind was just blank.

After the classed finished I stood up and stretched my back, yawning loudly. Aleksander didn't even move.

"You're not going?" I asked him surprised as I held my stuff.

"Where?"

"You know..to the fourth class," I said.

"It's going to take place in here," he told me as if I was some dumb child. I felt like punching him, but I didn't do it. I left the classroom. I couldn't stand his arrogant attitude. What had I done to be treated like that? I started to wander the halls aimlessly, not caring that I might get lost. That's how I ran into Matthew. Again. But this time I didn't tug him to the ground.

"Hey, Matthew!" I said suddenly feeling better. Aleksander Balakov could go to Hell, for all I cared. He flashed me another shy smile. Why couldn't my desk-mate be as sweet as Matthew or Feliciano? "How was your day?" I asked.

"Just like always," we stopped walking. "I mean, no one even bothered to look at me," I think he felt lonely. I grabbed his shoulders and turned him to look me in the eye.

"Well, that's going to change, 'cuz I am not going to ignore you," I said and at first I thought he was going to wrap his hands around my neck and give me one hell of a hug. But he didn't. He just stood there in front of me smiling brighter than ever. "Come on! Let's go! What class do you have now?"

"English," the reply came quickly and I jumped happily.

"Really? That's so great! I mean, I am having the same," I almost shouted. I was taking big steps and Matthew tried to catch up with me, but he didn't complain. "So, where should we go?" I asked him and he told me he'd show me the way. I didn't even realise where we were going, but as soon as we got to our destination, I felt my blood freezing in my veins and my face falling to the ground. Why, fate? Why do you have to be so cruel? Huh?

"Vladimir, what's wrong?" Matthew asked worried and I sighed shaking my head in disapproval.

"Nothing," I lied. I was in the same classroom as Mr. Uptight was. "Would you like to sit near me?" I asked trying not to peek at the Bulgarian. "We can sit in the middle row if you want," I proposed and I tried not to sound desperate. He nodded and we sat on the second seat since Matthew had a bad eye-sight or at least that's what he said.

Behind us, stood Feliciano and another guy I didn't know, but somehow he resembled the Italian. I turned to look at them. Feliciano gladly hugged me over the desk, thing I found weird but I didn't argue over it. I waved my hand playfully at his desk-mate and he growled at me.

"I'm Vladimir Lupei," I introduced myself not wanting to back down.

"Freak," he said rolling his eyes. I think I looked surprised because Feliciano started to rebuke him about being polite with strangers.

"Forgive him. He's in a bad mood today," Feliciano said and I shrugged as if it was nothing. And it was nothing. I didn't like being called 'freak' by some guy I didn't even know, but somehow, I could tell that he didn't really meant it. He was more like indifferent, whereas Mr. Uptight was cold on a purpose. That's how I felt. Speaking of which, I could feel his glare almost all the time I sat with the others. Maybe I was imagining things, but it felt so real.

"Lovino's never been too polite to anyone, anyway," someone said in an amused voice. I looked up and saw someone rather tall. He had tanned skin, olive eyes and somewhat curly brown hair. He also wore a bright smile on his lips and eyes.

"Shut up, bastard!" Feliciano's friend said punching the tanned guy. "Why would I be polite to an idiot like you?" he asked him, but the other only laughed and ruffled his hair.

"You never change, do you?" somehow, I felt like I shouldn't be there listening their conversation. It felt so private, as if they had known each other for a long, long time, thing I hardly experienced with someone, besides family. "By the way, I am Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. I am 17 years old, but I'll be turning 18 soon," he said smiling at me. Judging his name he was either Spanish or Italian. But I would go for Spanish.

"Vladimir Lupei," I said. "16 years old," somehow I felt so small compared to him. The bell rang and Antonio left the class. I turned my back to Lovino and Feliciano trying to focus on the blank whiteboard, but soon I felt my gaze lingering on Mr. Uptight. He wasn't looking at me, but at the whiteboard, perhaps. No one cared to sit next to him, as he was the only one to be alone in a class of 30. He had a good spot, the second sit, so why hasn't anyone joined him? Did he really had no friends at all?

I couldn't concentrate the whole hour. At some point I stopped starring at him, but my thoughts were still wondering somewhat about him. It was the first day of school, so I didn't even know him. Why was I obsessing myself over someone like him? It was useless and stupid. Why did his attitude bother me so much? It wasn't the first time I was treated like that, I've been through worse. Then what is all about?

I tried to figure out a logical explanation, but I couldn't. Somehow, I ended up being swept up by my past again. I didn't even hear the bell ringing. It was Feliciano who shook me to get up.

Being the first day of school, we hadn't had the full schedule. I was glad to hear that. I don't know how do things go in other English cities, but Clover was amazing so far. I packed up my stuff and waited for Matthew to do so as well. We left the building together talking about bears. Matt loved bears. I didn't quite understand why, but should there be a reason to like something? I don't think so. I liked wolves, for example, but if you ask me why, I can talk to you about them for hour, but I wouldn't actually answer the question.

We went down the hill, not even knowing when the time flew. He had to wait for someone and I left with the first bus that came.

For a first day at a different school, in a new city, I think I did well.


	2. Evil green. Pure red

_"Beware of the neighbours...they might bite"_

It was around 5 pm when I got home. Our house was placed in The Private District of the town, where there were only a few houses. In front of us, there was a single house. The others were spread across the neighbourhood, in the forest. The Private District was situated at the town's edge and it was a rather peaceful area, excepting the few cars that passed by. Our house had two floors and it was spacious, maybe too spacious if you ask me. The front door was made of rosewood, a very dark reddish brown coloured surface. The walls were wheat and somehow they matched the colour of the leaves that started to get rusty already. Our house had a forest in the backyard and a few tall trees surrounding the building. In my opinion, it looked nice.

The front door opened and my mother stepped out of the house. She waved at me and I waved back happily. I love my mother, she is kind and has a child's heart, always thinking how to make things fun for me and dad. Her hair was copper red and she had chestnut brown eyes. She was tall, looking most like a model, but not as skinny as one. That day she wore a summer white dress which resembled her white skin. She had freckles spread across her nose and a bit on her cheeks and I thought she looked cute.

"Hey, honey, come in or you'll get cold!" she said to me in English. Unlike my dad, she preferred speaking in English even in the house. My dad would always argue about it, but each time he said anything against it, she just replied:"While in Rome, do as Romans do."

"Ok, mom," I said and I hurried to get in. She was right. Outside the wind started to blow harshly and I felt my cheeks cold from it. It was an unusual weather for the first day of September, but I liked it. "What's that?" I asked pointing at the gift box she held in her hands. She smiled slyly.

"You'll see," she said and handed me the box. I took it and I looked at it. It was wrapped in a beige paper and had a brown bow. It wasn't heavy and I really wondered what could be inside, but something inside me told me it wasn't meant to be mine. Meanwhile she put up her trench coat, a black one and took an umbrella. She took the box back and grabbed her keys. "Put on your coat, Vlad," and I did as I was told. She left the house first and I ran to catch up with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously. She smiled and gave me the box back.

"To the house next door," she replied and I found my eyebrows almost meeting in a frown. "Don't give me that look, Vlad. We should be nice to our neighbours. We moved here a month ago, but we haven't even visited them," she averred and I nodded. What she had said was true. We were so busy with decorating the house we hadn't even visited them. "I heard they have a boy around your age. That should be fine, maybe you'll become friends," she said a bit more relaxed as we stopped in front of the neighbour's white door.

DING-DONG. DING-DONG.

I was the one pressing the doorbell with my right hand. My mother was behind me and I could hear the rain starting to fall. Still no one opened the door. I started to get impatient as my finger pressed the button again.

DING-DONG. DING-DONG.

And then the door finally opened revealing a nice woman wearing a green apron. She had pitch-black hair and dark-green eyes. Seeing my mother and I standing outside she smiled and wiped her hands on her green fabric.

"Yes?" she asked, her accent sounding somehow familiar, but I couldn't remember where I heard it. One thing I knew for sure: it wasn't British nor American.

"We live next door and we thought to bring you this," I said and smiled cheerfully handing her the box. "Sorry to be late, but we were busy with the house," I continued and I could feel my mother's smile on my back neck. She had to be proud of me for acting so nice to strangers, especially knowing I didn't really liked strangers.

"Oh, that's so kind of you. Come in, come in. You'll catch a cold outside," and she stepped back letting us enter the building. We complied and took off our shoes. "Let's go to the living room. I'll pour you some tea. Is that ok?" she asked showing us the way to the said room.

The living room looked nice. It had beige wallpaper, a brown sofa with a black table in front of it. In a corner there was a fireplace. The floor was wooden but it was covered by a beige carpet. Also, there were two brown armchairs in front of the sofa, between them, there was the table. The room had large windows and we could see the forest. The rain drops hit the windows making a nostalgic sound. I sat on the sofa and my mother followed.

"Honey, could you please come here? We have guests!" our neigbour shouted in the hall.

"Yeah, yeah.." someone answered from upstairs. Then I heard steps on the stairs. The person seemed to hurry and he went to another room, most probably the kitchen. I heard him and his mother discuss something, but I couldn't catch their conversation.

She came in and the other person followed. I turned to look and I felt my heart freezing and my eyes going bigger than the moon. That had to be a joke! And a very bad one, on top of it! Ooo, Doamne! De ce?* It seems that he was surprised as well, because for a couple of moments, his eyes went wide as well and he didn't even step in the room.

"W-what are you doing here?" I asked almost shouting.

"I live here, Lupei," he said going back to his icy self. He entered the living room and sat on one of the armchairs. "I should be the one asking you since you are in this house," he said staring at me intensely as if he were demanding an explanation.

"Well, I live next door," I said and pointed to the house door while faking a smile. Why, of all people who could have live next to us, why did it have to be him? I felt like I was starring in a low-quality teenage movie.

"You know each other?" our mothers said at the same time and we nodded.

"Actually, we share the same desk in some classes," we both replied then threw each other a glare. I felt like punching him again. I wasn't the violent type. I really wasn't, only that his face requested my fist in it. He, as well, didn't seem pleased to meet me.

"That's such a nice coincidence! I bet you two will become good friends!" his mother said and I almost felt like shouting and running in circles. I forced a smile and nodded. "Anyway, I have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Maya Balakov, pleased to meet you! And this is my son, Aleksander."

"I am Iasmina Lupei and he is Vladimir," my mother said in a pleased voice. I don't know if she or Mrs Balakov realised the tension between him and me, but none of them seem to care. Karma must be hating me.

It seemed that my mother bought our neighbours a cake and Mrs. Balakov insisted on sharing it with us. I ate my slice and drank my tea, but Mr. Uptight just stared at the cake as if it was his death enemy. I tried to ignore him.

"Why won't you two go upstairs and get to know each other better?" his mom suggested. Mr. Uptight said nothing for a while then he nodded. I gulped down and stood up. This day couldn't get any worse. He stood up as well and he left the room. I followed not really feeling like it.

"Why didn't you refuse to do it?" I asked as we were heading upstairs. "It's plain obvious you don't want me here. You could say something like 'not now' or 'maybe later'," I asked confused and he stopped in front of a door. He turned to look at me.

"I am polite to my mother, unlike someone," he replied and opened the door. My jaw almost dropped. Was he making of me? When was I treating my mom without respect? Ughh, he was such a rude bastard.

"I am polite to my mother as well! Who are you to know, anyway?" I asked and followed him inside. His room was tidy. Crazy tidy if I must say. It almost looked boring and unreal. I think he realised what I was thinking because he grimaced and pointed a chair with his index, while he sat on his bed. I complied and sat down at his writing desk. I wanted to ask him why was everything so monotone, but I didn't dare. I was too afraid to find the answer.

"I guess your room is messy, isn't it?" again. His tone was gelid, almost superior. I didn't bother to glare at him, instead I looked at his lap-top which was turned off.

"And what if it is? It's none of your business, anyway," I stated using my most indifferent tone. "It's not like I care about you and your stuff," I continued and looked outside through the window. The rain was falling heavily and somehow I felt like I was going to spend many hours in his room. "If I knew you were my neighbour, I would have stayed home," I added and turned to glare at him. Green orbs widened in surprise, at first, then they became icy again. I started to feel sick and turned my gaze to his lap-top again.

"Is that so," he said more like to himself, I guess. And silence fell upon us. I started to feel bad for being such a callous guy towards him. I didn't even know him yet I acted like he had killed my entire family in front of my eyes. I couldn't explain my attitude towards him. It must have been because he mostly remembered me of the bullies I met while I was in Romania. I guess.

"Yeah," I said in the end. I was a stubborn bastard. I know that. But I didn't want to admit that I was frustrated neither. Maybe the next day I could swap seats with someone else. But I wonder, who would even want to do it? Well, after thinking about it a while, I realised that no one would. So I was stuck with him for the rest of the year. Awesome, isn't it?

He wasn't even listening. Actually he opened a book and started to read, completely ignoring my existence. I looked at the cover, but it seemed it was written in Bulgarian. So he liked to read. I liked that too. I was a little surprised we had something in common, but I didn't drop my guard down. He was an icy bastard no matter if he liked to read or not.

"How long are you going to stare at me, Lupei? Have you never seen a book before? I bet you haven't," he scoffed not even rising his gaze from the book. I threw him a death glare. How dare he insult me like that?

"Huuh?! That's just rude! For your information, I love reading books, Balakov," I pressed on his name and he cocked an eyebrow, raising his green orbs from the text.

"Hmm..." and he went back to his book. I blinked confused at him, but said nothing. I really wanted to go home. It felt awkward, the whole situation and I bet he was thinking the same. But the rain continued to fall down and I could hear our mothers laughing downstairs. I was glad my mother got along with Mrs. Balakov, but at the same time sad. I couldn't go home because she would be upset. I wanted my mother to be happy and make friends, but that also meant I had to stand Mr. Uptight. Well, it was not like I really had a choice so sighed closing my eyes. "Do you want something to read?" he asked and I almost jumped on my feet as hearing his voice. I turned my reddish eyes and pointed with my index to my chest. "Yes, I was talking to you. You said you liked books and you looked bored. That is if you didn't lie," I mentally face-palmed. At first I had thought he started to be polite, but I guess I was wrong.

"If you have anything beside Bulgarian books, then yes. I can't read sloth,***" grinning almost I said in a cold, mean tone.

"How dare you?!" He stood up putting his book in his bed. "And here I thought I could be nice to a low-life like you!" Woow. I have never seen him angry before. His expression was priceless, it brought my sadistic side to surface.

"You? Nice? Don't joke around, Balakov. You can't even be nice!" I said standing up as well. I was provoking him, I know. And his face went as red as a tomato. He looked as if he was going to explode.

"You don't even know me," he said narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Maybe, but I tried being friendly to you and you were acting like Mr. Uptight," I retorted his expression became more frigid than ever. He grimaced and sat down on his bed. "Oh, that's all? You throw some insults then go back to your book?" I teased. "That's lame," I didn't even had time to finish my teasing, because he got up quickly and went towards me even faster.

"Look, you selfish prick, I don't like you one bit. But I have to behave nice because my mother likes yours and they get along well. Consider yourself lucky I don't strangle you right now, right here," his cold fingers were wrapped around my neck firmly and I found myself staring at him like he were my death enemy. "So behave or I might change my mind," he let go of my neck, but not of my gaze. Suddenly I grinned. This guy was despicable. I really felt like beating the crap out of him, but at the same time I felt something else, like a sparkle. It wasn't anger, but excitement. I felt provoked and I wanted to tease him badly.

"Well, you are not a nice company, if I must say, Mr. Uptight," I grinned wildly revealing my teeth. Usually I don't do that, because my teeth are curiously sharp, like a predator's and most of people get scared or say that I am a vampire. I am not, but I have sharp teeth. "But I will not rip off your pretty neck, because I find you amusing enough to keep around," I continued while scratching my chin as if I was analyzing him. He took a step back, his stare losing some of its intensity.

"Y-your teeth..." he said frowning as he hit the door with his back. I chuckled. Oh, he so deserved it.

"Well, that's rude," I stated and leaned forward, not leaving the chair thought. "What's with them?" I cocked an eyebrow as in a demand. He slightly gulped down.

"N-nothing," he stuttered. Oh, dear Lord, he really stuttered. I burst out laughing arching my back and looking at the ceiling.

"Your face was priceless. You should have seen yourself!" I said between my crazy outburst. I fell on my knees, laughing still, while punching the floor. I didn't even bother to look at his face, I was laughing too hard.

"Well, I'm glad I entertained you, Lupei," he said in a sarcastic voice and threw himself in bed.

"Oh, come on. It was really funny!" I smiled wiping tears from my eyes with my hand. I looked up at him, he was annoyed and maybe he felt uneasy. I couldn't tell. His expressions weren't easy to read, neither were his books. Anyway, maybe it was because of the light that entered through the window, or maybe it was purely my imagination, but he seemed to have soften a little tiny bit. "You know, it's not my fault you are so frigid," I said and shrugged.

"Yeah, thanks," he rolled his eyes. "Better frigid than idiotic," and with that he returned to his book. If I hadn't been laughing so hard until then I would have punched him. I was sure of it. Instead I thought that teasing him some more would actually be fun. So I proceeded.

"Oh, shut up, I am irresistible!" I smirked and he threw me another death glare.

"Irresistible? You? When the pigs will fly over rainbows," I rolled my eyes and grimaced. No really, this guy requested to be teased, but I didn't feel like it back then. So I just sighed and turned to look through the window. I don't know how much time passed, my mind went blank, but what brought me to reality was the door opening. It was our mother. I turned to face them.

"Vlad, darling, it's time for us to leave," she announced and I nodded smiling brightly at her. Oh, finally! I thought I was going to stay there forever. "Did you two have fun? I heard you laughing hysterically from downstairs. It's been a while since then," she said ruffling my hair. She treated me like a child, but I didn't argue. I liked to be loved, I liked it when others showed affection towards me.

"Yeah, we are really getting along, aren't we, Aleksander?" I said faking a smile at him and narrowing my eyes slightly as in a warning.

"Of course, we are totally understanding each other. We might even become best friends," he faked a smile as well, but I could feel the hatred in his voice. Oh, how lovely that was!

"I'm so glad to hear that! Vlad never got the chance to have friends," my mother said and my smile faded. This was bad, my weak point had been revealed to my greatest enemy. Suddenly, I felt like I wanted to be swallowed by the ground. Why, fate? Why did you do this to me?

"Is that so?" he asked but I didn't dare to look at him. My heart was racing madly in fear. "No problem, Mrs. Lupei, I'll gladly be his best friend," he continued in a strange tone, as if he were saying: "Don't worry, bastard, I've got your weak point now. I'll gladly ruin your life as soon as tomorrow comes," I felt like killing him or myself.

"You are such a good boy, Aleksander. I am glad you two met. Maybe you can come pick Vladimir tomorrow. He has the bad habit of getting up late," and suddenly I felt like putting a duct tape over my mom's mouth.

"Of course, Madam," he said and got up. "I'll gladly help him with anything he needs," but that sounded more like: "I'll gladly torture him every time I can!"

"Oh, just Iasmina," she said and I could feel the horror building up inside me. I looked up at him and his green eyes was fixing mine. I felt like a victim trapped in a horror movie, in front of me stood the Devil himself. His lips were curled in a smile, but his eyes were as icy as ever. "You can come to breakfast if you feel like," my mother said happily, completely clueless about what was going on between him and me.

"Thanks for the offer, Iasmina. You are so kind. And Vladimir is just like you. I'm feeling so lucky!" what a joke. How could he pretend to be so sweet in front of grown ups, but around the others was a total bastard? I couldn't be like that and suddenly I wished I could move to another place. Maybe with some luck...

"Oh, you are such a good kid. Have a nice evening, Aleksander," and we left.

It was 7 am and I was dragging my feet lazily while trying to go to the bathroom. My vision was blurry and my head ached. Maybe you are wondering "what happened, Vlad? Did your night go bad?" Oameni buni, you have no idea.** It didn't go bad, but the worst. I couldn't sleep at all, but my mind was full of my past and the current problem: Aleksander Balakov. He was worse than a bully. With bullies it was easy. I learned karate and I could bring them down any time. After a few times of beating them up, they would give up eventually. But Aleksander was different. He threatened me that he was going to strangle me, but he did even press his fingers on my flesh. Instead, he used words and opportunities. He was a glacial bastard, but he was smart. Damn.

And it didn't take me too long to think about faking a stomach ache. Actually, I've got a head ache. That would work. I changed my route and went downstairs where I found mom cooking. She seemed surprised to see me up already. Mother stopped cooking and turned to look at me.

"You look pale, is something wrong?" she asked really worried.

"I don't know. My head hurts and I couldn't sleep well," I said and lowered my gaze to add a dramatic effect. I was a good actor, I knew that for certain.

"Oh, poor you. You must be overwhelmed by so many changes. I'll give you a pill, but you have to go to school. It's just the second day. You can't miss it," she said patting my head then she leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "You have temperature," her eyes were sad. "I'll give you the best tea and you shall go and try to sleep. It'll work. When should you go to school?"

"I should be leaving at 11 am," I said closing my eyes tiredly.

"That's no good. I'll be gone at that time and I can't drive you there," she said obviously thinking about the situation. Maybe I really had a chance to stay home. "I don't know. For now, go upstairs and try to sleep. I'll bring you tea and a painkiller," and I left feeling better already. Maybe I didn't have to meet that bastard. Oh, but how wrong I was!

Hours passed and I actually fell asleep in the end. I drank my tea and took the painkiller and sleep visited me after a while. I felt better. But that's when everything was ruined. The door opened and I thought it was my mother, so I rolled to face the door, only to have my eyes widen in terror. Was this some kind of a joke? Some kind of a hallucination? No. It was as real as it could be. A joke? Definitely. A bad one.

"Good morning, sunshine! Time for you to get up, Vladimir," he said leaning forward and I found our closeness suffocating.

"I don't wanna," I said rolling on the other side and covering my head with my fluffy white blanket. It had to be a nightmare. It had to!

"Oh, come on! Don't be so grumpy! Mom will take us to school so we don't have to walk. You'll see that if you breath some fresh air, you'll feel refreshed and reborn, even," he said and grabbed the blanket with the intention of revealing me.

"No way," I said and grabbing the fabric stubbornly. I might have been weakened, but I was no pansy. I could beat him anytime. He let go off my blanket and I had thought I won, but that was not it! He threw himself in bed and whispered to my ear through the blanket. I don't know how he had known where my ear was but he guessed right.

"Look, you little idiot, if you won't get up faster, I might go around and spread some nasty rumors about you. Maybe I am not liked at school, but I've never done any harm to anyone. So they will believe me. It's up to you," he said and got up.

"I hate you!" I said tossing the blanket away. "I genuinely hate you!" another glare. Another frown.

"Yeah, well, I hate you too, so don't worry. It's not like I am here because I like your personality too much!" he said crossing his arms and I got our of bed. "Now move your lazy ass or we are going to be late. And I don't want to be dragged down by someone like you," I arranged my blanket, the pillows and the sheet.

"And now if you excuse me, I want to get changed. Could you be as kind as in to leave my room?" I asked grimacing.

"Of course. Why would I want to watch you changing? Good Lord, you are so disgusting," he looked down at the shirtless me. I chuckled. Was this guy wearing his pajama while sleeping? I mean the pants and the blouse? How weird. I could only stand the pants, but if I put on the blouse I would die suffocated. He left the room and I burst into laughter again. What a weirdo!

I went to take a quick shower then I put on a black striped hoodie and deep sky blue jeans. I tossed my notebooks and my books in the school bag and left the room. I wondered what had he thought when he entered my room. I bet he was expecting it to be awfully messy. Hah. I proved him wrong.

Actually I tidied it up the other day as soon as I got home. I stood up late, somehow sensing that the bastard would barge into my room the following day. I had a helpful premonition and somehow I felt like I won against Mr. Uptight. It was a small victory, I knew, but still, there was something. I went downstairs where I found him standing at the door, tapping the marble floor with his shoe.

"Hurry up!" he said and I put on my trainers. He opened the door and went outside. That day he was wearing a green, black jeans and a black blazer. Outside, the weather was gloomy again but it wasn't raining. At least not yet. I grabbed my red trench coat and left the house. What surprised me to death was that the Bulgarian turned to face me, went towards me and locked the door. My house! My door! Why did he have my key?

"Where did you get that?" I asked following him to his mother's car. He didn't even bother to look at me but mumbled something about my mom giving this to him. I threw him the most angered glare I could put up. Too bad he was with his back at me, so he wasn't hit my ultra-full-of-hate-kind-of-glare. We both sat on the back seat.

"Good morning, Mrs. Balakov!" I said politely, once again regaining my sweet careless expression. His mother was such a nice lady...why did he turn out to be such a jerk? She smiled.

"Good morning to you as well, Vladimir. And, please, call me Maya. I feel old when you address me formal," and she chuckled. I nodded. "I heard from Iasmina you felt ill this morning. Did something happen?" her voice seemed really worried.

"I don't know. I guess it's because of too many changes in a short time," I lied and scratched my hair innocently. She sighed and offered me a cookie.

"Here. I bet you are hungry. I made it this morning so it should be ok. Try not to stress yourself too much. It brings you no good anyway. Aleksander was the same, two years ago when we moved here. He was so stressed about everything, that he fell ill for a week," she said looking at the road. I smiled, but my gaze fell upon the Bulgarian that stood next to me. He looked back at me, silently saying: "you wouldn't dare!" and I chuckled.

"That's such a shame," I said trying to seem sorry, while in my head I was laughing madly. Mr. Uptight narrowed his green eyes at me, but I didn't mind him. A great plan made its way in my head. If I stayed around his mother long enough, maybe I could snatch a bitter sweet secret about him and then we would be equal.

The drive was nice, actually. Maya asked me a lot of thinks and I gladly found myself opening to her.

"What kind of music do you listen to, Vladimir?" she asked at some point and I turned my gaze from the window to look at her.

"Well usually I listen to rock, such as Metallica, but I like classical music as well. For example, I really like Chopin and his Nocturnes, Beethoven and his Moonlight Sonata and Mendelssohn with his Venetian Gondolier. I also love soundtrackes, especially those composed by Hans Zimmer," I said actually forgetting about Aleksander's presence.

"Wow. See, Aleks, you are not alone!" Maya said and reality hit me. Oh, yeah, Aleksander was there as well.

"You like Chopin?" he asked in a surprised voice as if he hadn't seen me until then. My eyes turned to look at him, or to be honest to investigate his expression. I was surprised too, to see him less frigid than usual. I nodded. "And Hans Zimmer?" he continued even more surprised. Another nod. "And Beethoven?" that time his eyes went as big as the dinner plates. If I weren't surprised as well, I would have rolled on the floor laughing like a mad person. Another nod. "I had no idea that we share the same interests in music. Well, excepting the rock part," he said his I-am-so-frigid-I-won't-even-bother-to-change level went drastically somewhere around Maybe-I-can-change-into-a-nice-person. I smiled, this time without faking it, without trying to be mean or sneaky. "But I still hate you," he winked at me as he wrote this on the steamy window with his index. He then cleared it and returned to his I-am-so-frigid-I-don't-even-need-a-carrot-stuck-up -in-my-arse. I mentally punched myself for thinking he could be nice.

"Hehe. That's why we will be such good friends!" I said faking a happy voice and he nodded without even looking at me. He was reading again. His mother seemed pleased that we were "getting along well". Oh, if only she knew!

We reached school in the end and I thanked her. She waved us as in a goodbye and left. I turned to look at him.

"Don't tell me you are going to follow me wherever I might go," I said it more like a warning.

"Why would I bother? You think I was joking when I said that I hated you?" he said rolling his eyes in annoyance. I puffed.

"Well, good then. 'Cuz I don't want to see your Stuck Up face the whole day, Mr. Uptight. I have better things to do!" I said with the intention of leaving his side.

"Like hanging with Ghost-Guy or Pink-Brothers?" he asked and I turned to look at him.

"What?"

"You know, Matthew Williams and the Italian brothers, Lovino and Feliciano," the Bulgarian looked bored.

"They are brothers?" I asked curiously. He gave are-you-serious kind of look.

"Yes, the Vargas brothers," I shrugged. So they were family with Mr. Vargas. That was cool. I would have been so glad to have him as father or grandfather. "You don't even know who they are, but still you stick around with them. You are such a fool," his voice was full of arrogance.

"So what? So what if I don't know who they are? I'll find out eventually. And it's none of your business!" I started to get angry. He sighed, but his gaze was more intense than ever.

"I am not jealous. Stay with them, for all I care. Actually I am glad that you will stay with them, because this way I'll get rid of you and your stupid face," Aleksander was walking to his class. I was following him, but I had no idea why I did so.

"You say I am stupid but you don't even try to get to know me! How can you be so sure?" I felt insulted. Why was he looking down on me? I knew that in my homeland there are a lot of stupid teens, but I was not like them!

"It's written all over your sorry excuse for man," he stated but he didn't even dare to look at me. And somehow he was lucky, because if he did, I would have his head ripped off.

"Thanks, Mr. Uptight. You are so wise," I retorted and left his side. I couldn't stand him anymore.

A few minutes later, I was wondering the halls by myself. I turned my head to right. Then to left. Holy macaroni! I was lost. In the end I decided to stop in front of a window and admire the beauty of the forest. My head was full of negative thoughts. Why did I have to be stuck with that damned Bulgarian, not that I have something against Bulgarians, mind you. But why? Why was he so unfriendly, full of himself and frigid when he had such a nice mother? Maybe he had a bad father. After all, I haven't met him. But I had a stoic father and I wasn't a stuck up kid. Well, at least I liked to think so.

"You ok?" I turned to look at him. Next to me stood an albino with a worried expression on his face. His voice was hoarse, but that made him seem more manly than ugly. He wore black clothes and black boots. At his neck he had a necklace with a black cross and he had lots of rings. In his left ear he had pierced a dragon. He didn't even seem to mind the cold air as he was wearing just a tank top and a tartan shirt completely unbuttoned.

"Yeah. I just got lost," I said and it was true after all. It didn't matter if I were lost both in reality and in my thoughts.

"I'll help you, newbie. By the way, name's Gilbert Beilschmidt," he hold out his hand to me.

"Vladimir Lupei," a wide smile spread across my face and I hold out my hand as well. He grinned pleased and we shook hands.

"Vlad, so...where to?" he asked. "And don't tell me you are going to your class. You are going to skip with me and the others," he said letting go of my hand. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Skip classes? Me?" I asked surprised.

"Oh, don't play innocent. You are not a nerd. Even if you try to look and act like one. But I can recognize someone cool and rock from 20 miles," his grin grew wilder, so did mine. "So, how about it? In or out?"

"In," I replied instantly. I was who I was. I was a rocker, a rebel, a trouble child. I needed to escape from my false identity of a good child from time to time, and Gilbert was my salvation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ooo, Doamne, de ce?= Oh, God, why?
> 
> **Oameni buni=Folks
> 
> ***Sloth=I was talking about the animal.


	3. Equal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danke=Thank you
> 
> Verdammt=Damned
> 
> Alter=dude
> 
> Entschuldigung=I'm sorry (as in the case when you bump into someone)
> 
> Nein= No.
> 
> Fratello=Brother
> 
> Nu=No.
> 
> Da=Yes
> 
> Ce mă fac?= What am I going to do?

_"How about we make a deal...?"_

It had started to rain and I put my hoodie on. Gilbert complained about 'not being prepared for such a verdammt* weather'. I chuckled and handed him my trench coat. His red pools gave it a long stare, but he took it in the end and mumbled 'danke'*. I, again, chuckled and he rolled his eyes. It was just my second day at St. Andrew and I was already skipping classes. But it was only his fault! He was so annoying I couldn't help, but leave his side and get lost afterwards.

"So, how come you know German?" he asked me as we were running through the rain. I didn't look at him, but I kept focusing on the road so I would not trip over something.

"I was taught at school," my answer came in a simple, honest tone. And it was true. "I had to choose between German and French, and I chose German," I added after a while. "But I can't really talk in German. I can only translate from German to another language. Not vise versa. I had weird teachers who only told us to translate from German and I never got the grammar part so here I am only understanding what you say, but not being able to reply," I explained still looking at the ground. I bumped into him and I was about to fall, but he was quicker and he caught my hand and pulled me back.

"Watch out, Alter!* he said and I leaned on him trying to regain my balance, but it seemed that it didn't want to show up. "Dizzy, aren't you?" he smirked and I looked up at his face. Gilbert was taller than me and somehow, I felt uneasy standing there, leaning on his body.

"Well, yeah...Entschuldigung!"* I said but he didn't let go of me. "I-I had a hard morning. I knew I shouldn't have come to school today, but my mom insisted and...a lot of things happened," I said in a low sad voice. It really bothered me, Aleksander presence, and I hated to admit that.

"Nein, that's fine.* I know parents can be really annoying at times. If you want I can take you home," he said lifting me up and throwing my body over his shoulder as if I was a sack full of potatoes.

"P-put me down!" I shouted surprised that he had lifted me. "I-I can't go home," and I remembered that Mr. Stuck Up had my key. But Gilbert didn't put me down and I somehow gave up. We were going down the hill, through the forest. "I don't have a key with me," I explained as much as I could. It would be freaky to tell him that some frigid guy had my house key, right?

"Then I'll take you to my place," he continued walking. "Don't worry. I'm not a bad guy, I won't do anything if that's what you've been thinking," he said in a sincere voice, or at least that's how it sounded. Maybe he was a good actor too, but if so...then I couldn't help it. I kind of liked Gilbert. He was nice, despite his weird appearance, he was kind, despite his I-am-so-badass style of clothing.

"Thanks, Gil," I murmured and he scoffed. If only he could be my neighbour, not Jack Frost in person, then maybe my life would have been easier and I would have been happy. But, no, sir, no. It seemed that I had to endure everything anywhere I went.

"You're welcome, kiddo," and I punched him lightly in his back.

"I am no kid," I said frustrated. "I am just short. At least for now," he laughed.

"Well, I bet you are younger than me. I am 17," he said and I sighed. He was right.

"It's only a year. It's not that much!"

He laughed again, that time louder and I started to laugh too. He wasn't mean as he wanted to seem. If I would have been older, maybe we would share the same desk and we would definitely get along well. That's if we went to school. A few years ago I used to skip classes a lot. My first reason was to avoid the bullies, but then I had realised that I liked a lot to stay home at the computer learning different languages or how to draw. Despite the high number of absences I actually had good grades and everyone thought I was a nerd. But I wasn't. If I grew tired of pc, I would go and meet rockers as me. Back then, my mother was very worried. So I changed myself, apparently.

"How did you know I was pretending?" I found myself asking him after a while. "You know that I was some 'let's-study-all-day-and-night-kind-of-guy'.

"I don't know. You hid perfectly, don't worry. But I guess it's not something that has to do with clothes or appearance in general. It was more like the way you gazed and you talked. Something more inner, more private. One day, you'll understand, eventually," he said the last sentence in a strange tone and I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but I didn't. Something inside me thought it was wiser to shut up. And I obeyed.

In the end we reached an apartment complex somewhere in the town. He insisted on carrying me all the way and I tried, not only once, to escape, but he was strong. He lived at the sixth floor. As soon as we got in his apartment he kicked a few door and threw my in a bed. I tried to stay calm and have faith in him, that he didn't lie to me.

"Want some tea?" he asked and I nodded feeling my neck too dry to speak. He smiled softly and left me. I looked around me. His room was a total mess, clothes everywhere and I was even sitting on a pair of trousers and one of socks. His white walls were covered by posters with rock bands and I even found some I liked. On the floor there were dirty plates and finished beer bottles. He was underage and he was drinking. Not that I minded. I wasn't a rule-freak so it really didn't matter. His life, his choice.

He came back with a cup of tea and sat down on a pile of clothes, next to me, handing the tea over to me. I took it while smiling faintly and I sipped the hot liquid. His red eyes met mine as I delighting myself with his mint tea. Through steam and dust our gazes never dropped.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask. Do you have any friends?" he asked me and I stopped drinking the tea to look at him properly.

"Friends..yeah. Best friends? Not really," the answer came and I returned to my tea.

"How about we become best buddies? I'll introduce you to the others as well. I'm sure they'll like you!" he said getting enthusiastic already, mood that gripped me as well. I nodded and he grinned. "Yosh! We will really have fun, you'll see," he said winking at me and I laughed finishing my tea. "You can sleep if you want."

"Nope. Maybe I should be going back to school..." my mind was invaded by Jack Frost again.

"How so? Is something wrong?" he asked getting his face closer to mine so see if I was ok.

"Not really. But you see, my life recently had been complicated. I don't have my key, but one of my classmates have it," I said in the end in a bitter voice. Damn him, ruining my opportunities to have some fun.

"Why does he have it?" eyes narrowed suspiciously, red pools stared intensely.

"Well, I told you I felt ill in the morning and mom refused to let me stay home. Instead she left him the keys and his mother brought us to school," I said looking at the empty cup of tea.

"Why didn't you ask him to give it to you?" he took the cup from me and went to the kitchen with it. Gilbert quickly came back.

"He wouldn't have listened anyway. He never does," another bitter answer. Gilbert grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him.

"Look, I don't know what's between you two, but you can't let him boss you around. Talk back. Fight back. Be sarcastic, if it's needed," I almost felt myself smiling, but in a sad way.

"I do that every time. It doesn't work. He's just Mr. Uptight, Mr. Stuck Up, what can I say, Jack Frost in person," he let go of me. "I tried being friendly, not only once, but he goes around telling me I am an idiot and such," I continued in an angered tone. "I teased him a couple of times. Hell! I even scared him! But he is just as stoic as ever," I finished.

"Since when...?" now he seemed really worried.

"Yesterday," I felt stupid talking about someone as if I had known them for ages, when in reality I hadn't.

"That's fine. He'll warm up, eventually. And if he doesn't, he's the one who loses here, not you," he said and patted my shoulder friendly. "Let's get you back to school. We'll see the nurse and everything will be fine," he said and I nodded feeling better already. Something told me that I wasn't actually ill, but more like Aleksander-ill.

Everything went well and smoothly. The nurse believed us when we told her that Gilbert had found me laying in the hall with a terrible head ache. I continued the story by telling her that I was new in there and I had no idea where I was at that moment nor did I know how to reach her. He gave me a pill and told me to lie down for a while. Gil left me telling her he had to go to attend classes, but I knew he was going to skip them. I waved him goodbye and he did as well.

After twenty minutes, I got up, deciding to face my green eyed nightmare. The nurse wished me luck at my studies, I thanked her and left the room. Somehow I ended up meeting Feliciano who hugged the soul out of me.

"Where have you been?" he asked after he had released me. I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye and told him the same story I had told the nurse. "Gilbert helped you?" he asked a bit surprised.

"Well, yeah, he did and he was really nice and stuff," I said flashing him my careless smile and he smiled back at me, but worriedly.

"You don't know the rumors, right?" I shook my head in disapproval. What rumors? "They say he is no good and all he does is fight all the time," Feliciano said. "I have to ask Ludwig about it," he said the last sentence more like to himself, but curiosity got me again.

"Who's Ludwig?" I asked.

"Ah...a friend of mine," he looked away. "And Gilbert's fratello,"* he added and all I could to was to stare even more curios.

"Gilbert has a brother? He hadn't said anything to me. But, oh well, we haven't been talking too much," I added and my lips curled in an another casual smile. "That reminds me...I hear you and Lovino are brothers as well..."

"Oh, yeah. But we are very different. He has a potty mouth and he always seems to be in a bad mood, but actually he is just lonely," the Italian explained. "Antonio is most probably one of his few friends," the pasta lover stated and I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Antonio and Lovino are friends? Is this a joke? But your brother is even meaner to him, than to a stranger!" I bet on my favourite food that I sounded very doubtful.

"Oh, that's his way of showing his affection. Antonio got used to it. They had known each other since he was this small," he bent down to show me. "And Antonio had always been near him although Lovino told him to go away. The Spaniard has always been stubborn," Feliciano explained.

"I guess it's nice to have someone like that around you..." my words died on my lips, I felt them heavy.

"You mean, you never had a best friend?" I sighed for letting it slip, but nodded in the end. "Don't worry, I'll be your friend. And I bet Ludwig and Kiku will like you too," he said hugging me again. I knew it was a habit of them, Italians I mean, to hug a lot, but that much? Never mind. I needed that hug, although I didn't like to admit it.

"Thanks, Feliciano," I hadn't time to ask him who Kiku was as the bell rang and we headed to our classes.

I was having history again and that meant I had to sit near Jack Frost. His green eyes widened in surprise as he saw me entering the class and taking my seat. I didn't even bother to look at him, I put my notebook and my book on the desk and I let my gaze fall through the window.

"Where have you been?" he asked interrupting my stillness. But I didn't look at him, although I felt the urge to do it.

"I've been sick so I went to the nurse," I said plainly. Not friendly, not icy. I saw my reflection on the window and his behind my back. His green eyes weren't as icy as usual, but I didn't want to risk and act all friendly and nice. After all he said I was an idiot. I had to prove him wrong.

"Are you better now?" he asked. Suddenly I felt the urge to catch a glimpse of his expression, not his reflection.

"Nu,*" was my answer and I don't know if I started to imagine things but I swear I could hear him sighing. Romanians and Bulgarians have very different languages, but because their countries are neighbours, and because there were Romanians who liked the Bulgarian beach, some of the Bulgarians learned a bit of Romanian. Aleksander knew what 'nu' meant. It meant no.

"Then maybe you should go home," he suggested, but I decided to keep my indifferent attitude towards him. It was like showing him what it felt like to be ignored.

"No. I'll be fine," I said and ran my hand through my strawberry blonde hair. Oh, I bet deep down inside he was really fuming. Well, no matter what, he deserved it. Fully. He scoffed.

"Now you are acting like a child. Fine! You can even faint and I won't move one finger, for all I care!" he snapped and I stood still, listening to the rain pouring on the window. At that time I didn't want to admit it, but I felt bad for being such a jerk to him. If only I knew that jerk would become someone important...!

The class finished and we were having English again. It was the class in which I stayed next to Matthew so I gathered my stuff and went to the middle row. Matthew wasn't there yet, but I could wait. Feliciano sat on Matthew's chair and handed me a box.

"What's in there?" I asked him taking the box in my hands.

"Food. I thought you might be hungry after all that happened today..." he said smiling like an airhead, just like always. I could swear that guy could have a cute, pink background wherever he went. He was so sweet, I sometimes had to wonder if he really were a guy. But I never questioned him. It would have been rude.

"Thanks, Feliciano," I said and opened it. Inside, I found pasta and a sausage. Also, he handed me a fork and I took it smiling happily.

"I knew you had no time to go to the cafeteria so we brought you this," Feliciano explained and I frowned as I heard the word 'we'. "We didn't know what you like to eat so..." his words trailed off. 'We' again. That time, I didn't hold back.

"Who was with you?"

"Umm..Ludwig," I don't really know why but every time we spoke about that Ludwig-person, he seemed to hesitate and look away. "Oh, by the way, he said that those rumors about Gilbert were fake. It is true that he tries to seem though and grumpy and it's true that he skips classes a lot, but he is not a bad guy," Feliciano said and I nodded.

"Told you," I said and in front of the class door there stood a very happy Gilbert who waved at me. I looked back at him and he went towards my desk.

"Hiya there, Vlad," he pulling a chair from another desk to sit next to me. "Do you like the food?" he asked and winked at me.

"Yeah, it's good. Both the pasta and the sausage," I said munching my sausage. Gilbert's lips curled in a grin.

"It's wurst," he said and took a bite from my food. "Awesome, isn't it? But not as awesome as me!" his face was full of pride, I could tell that, but what made me laugh like a madman was the yellow bird that sat on his head. "Oh, stop it! You know I am awesome," Gil's tone was slightly hurt, but only as in a joke. His eyes were happy.

"What's up with that bird?" I asked after I stopped laughing.

"That's Gilbird," another person said from behind Gil's back. It was Antonio. "Hey, Vladimir, how are things going? I heard from Gilbert you felt sick," he said his olive eyes really worried.

"I'm a bit better now," and it was true. Haven't I told you I liked being accepted and appreciated? Well, there you have it. "Wait. Gilbird? That means it's yours?" realisation started to hit me. He nodded. "You are so awesome!" I exclaimed in awe, and if I were an anime character, I bet my eyes would have sparkled.

"See, guys? I told you countless times I'm awesome. The rookie knows the best," he ruffled my hair and I smiled really happy at him.

"Yeah, yeah. You finally found someone to pet, right, Gil?" it was the French Frog. "Oh, mon ami, I heard you were sick! Are you better now?" he said in a dramatic voice and I nodded. Somehow, everyone knew about me not feeling well. I wondered how. "Good, zhen. Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Francis Bonnefoy!"

"Oh, Francis..." I guess I had a surprised look on my face because the Brit started laughing.

"He thought your name was Frog, you frog," the Brit said and I tried to apologize, but Francis said it was ok. "Anyway, I heard you were sick and I brought you tea..." and he gave me a bottle full of tea. "My name's Arthur Kirkland, pleased to meet you, Vladimir," and we shook hands.

"I have just one question. Ok, maybe two. But how come everyone knows I was sick?" I asked and Gilbert raised in his feet.

"I told Francis and Antonio, Antonio told Lovino, Lovino told Feliciano and Feliciano told Ludwig, Francis told Arthur and..." he was interrupted by some loud banging.

"And Big-Brows told me," Bomber Jack said making his entrance in the class. Arthur threw him a death glare and they started arguing again. "Oh, come on, it's not my fault you have brows bigger than France!" the Brit glared at him and jumped to strangle Bomber Jack, but he wasn't as tall as him so he ended up hugging him. Bomber Jack hugged the smaller teen back, forcefully.

"Let...go...of...me, idiot!" I could hear Arthur mumble. And Bomber Jack let him go. "Good Lord, Alfred! What were you trying to bloody do? Get my soul out of my body?" the Brit looked annoyed. And then I remembered. His name was Alfred F. Jones, Matthew told me...

"Where's Matthew?" I asked.

"Who?" that was the Spaniard and the Brit.

"He's talking about Matthew, dudes. You know...maple guy," Alfred explained and I cocked an eyebrow. "He won't come today, anyway. He had some business. Why did you ask?" the blond asked while sitting on my desk.

"He sat near me," I mumbled. No. No. NO! Did I have to sit near Jack Frost again? I felt like going sick again. My face met the though surface of the desk.

"Is anything wrong?" Gilbert asked worriedly and I turned my head to look at the albino, but without raising and standing properly.

"No. I just can't get rid of this headache," I lied. Well, almost. Aleksander was a headache and it seemed that I couldn't get rid of him. Fate must have been hating me. A lot.

"Eat a hamburger, dude. You'll totally feel better!" and out of nowhere he pulled out a hamburger and started eating. Where did he keep it? I stared at him curiously, but I thought it was better not to know.

"You can't treat a headache with a hamburger, you twit!" Arthur said smacking Alfred, who didn't even seem to have felt it.

"What's the deal with the hamburgers?" I got up and leaned forward towards Gilbert's ear, then I whispered the question.

"He's American," and suddenly everything made sense. Arthur was always arguing with Alfred because of their rivalry. I chuckled and Gilbert smiled back, winking at me at the same time. He knew I got what he meant.

The bell rang and the group scattered. I picked up my stuff and went to sit near the Bulgarian, who didn't even rise his head from his book. Not that I minded, anyway. The teacher entered in the room and the class began. I decided it was time for me to concentrate and I really wanted to do that, but Aleksander stare didn't let me.

"What?" I asked him after a while. I couldn't stand his eyes on me anymore.

"Nothing," he said but he still stared at me.

"Do I have something on my face?" I turned to look at him.

"Yes," Aleksander scratched his cheek.

"On my cheek?" I touched my cheek, but I didn't feel anything wrong.

"No. On your lips..." Aleksander's face was as stern as ever. "It's from what you ate earlier, I guess," he said and my eyes widened.

"How come you know what I ate earlier?" I thought he was lost in his book.

"Oh, well, it's not that easy to concentrate around so many idiots," and with that he turned to face the whiteboard and I didn't say anything as well. It seemed that he had paid attention to me and I wondered why. Well, of course, the others were noisy, but I bet he could have ignored them. How did I know? Just a hunch.

The other classes passed quickly, so did the breaks. Gilbert and the others came to see me each break, always asking if I was ok. They barely knew me, yet they acted like I was someone important to them. Again, I felt loved and accepted. So what if the Bulgarian hated me? It meant nothing and I started thinking I was going to get used to it.

I was heading home when Gilbert asked me if I wanted to go with him and the other, but I refused. I knew I had to go home. He waved at me and disappeared in the forest. I chuckled and went on. The rain had stopped and the air felt fresh. I kind of missed Matthew. I would have been nice to have someone next to you on the way back home.

"Lupei," ok, I immediately take back my words. I prefer going home alone. I looked at the Bulgarian with a corner of my eye.

"What?" indifferent voice, relaxed walking.

"Your key, idiot," he said, but I didn't turn around to demand it back. I just kept on walking. "What? Now you are ignoring me?" I nodded. "Great way to ignore someone while answering their questions. And you asked me why I thought you were an idiot," he kept ranting and I stopped and looked at him.

"Look, Aleksander. I don't care anymore. We can pretend we are friends at home, even best friends if you want, but I don't care about your insults," I said grimacing.

"Oh, you've found another plaything. I get it," he scoffed.

"Gilbert is not a plaything! He's my friend. And unlike a certain person, he is willing to understand me and accept me, even as an idiot!" I snapped and he cocked an eyebrow.

"You certainly don't know anything about him. He fooled you completely!" Aleksander said it in a calm, composed voice, but it seemed forced. I think he was angry. I kept gazing at his green eyes, demanding an explanation.

"And you do? How so? You never speak with anybody. You have no friends. So how do you know? By rumors? Rumors are stupid!" I suddenly felt angry too.

"Oh, you're even defending him! That's so sweet it makes me want to puke. Fine. Stay with him, for all I care. But do not come to me crying and saying that I was right!" and he started walking. I grabbed his hand to turn him around and he tried to shake me off, but I refused to let him go. He tripped dragging me as well, and I fell on top of him. We both let an "ouch!" slip our lips. "Y-you i-idiot!" he stuttered trying to get rid off me, but without even looking me in the eye. I felt provoked so I didn't comply.

"Tell me. What do you know about him?" my voice was serious and calm despite the fact that I fell to the ground.

"I-I c-can't tell," still looking away, still pushing me away, but he had no idea that despite my slim appearance I had almost inhuman strength. "P-please, get off of me," he begged in a whisper. "I'll give you your key..." was he trying to buy me? I chuckled. I thought he was kind of cute, all stuttering and weak suddenly.

"That's not how it works," my lips curled in a grin, a very wild toothy grin. Aleksander looked at me with the corners of his eyes, he was scared of me. I approached my face to his. He wanted to get away again, but he had nowhere to go. "You tell me what you know and I let go of you."

"I don't know anything!" but it was a lie. "Just let me go!"

"If you'll behave nice from now on, maybe," I said in a low, almost husky voice to seem more threatening. I guess it worked because he automatically nodded.

"I will! I will! I mean I take back my threat from this morning. I won't tell anyone anything about you!" he said still pushing me.

"Ok. I guess it's enough for now, Mr. Stuck Up," another toothy grin and I stood up. He got up by himself and cleansed his clothes. I did it as well. He threw the key at me and left. I followed him, suddenly feeling the urge to annoy him. He was fun to tease. Gilbert was a nice guy, so where the others somehow, but the Bulgarian's awkward reactions were just priceless. He deserved to be teased!

A week has passed since I started going to school. It was a nice tiring week, but I was somehow happy. It was Sunday morning and it didn't rain. The sun entered through the window and I was surprised to discover that I missed the sunlight. It rained the whole week. Of course you wonder about the Bulgarian guy next door. Right. He kept his promise although he still looked down on me. We had a few fights, one of them was about Feliciano Vargas, whom he seemed to dislike a lot. Another one was about wolves. We were in the middle of the History class when Mr. Vargas started talking about Capitoline Wolf and Aleksander mumbled something like 'wolves are so disgusting' and I snapped. I yelled at him angered about how cool wolves are and everyone turned to look at us. Mr. Vargas calmed us down and I thought we were getting punished but actually all he did has smile. We pretended to be best friends at home while playing Scrabble. Our mothers knew nothing.

Today I was going with Gil, Antonio and Francis in the town. We exchanged phone numbers and we decided to meet in the weekend. I got our of my bed and went to the bathroom. We had a spacious bathroom and I enjoyed taking showers in there. After that, I went downstairs where I found my mother speaking at the phone. She made me pancakes for the breakfast and a cup of Earl Grey tea. I sat down at the black table we had in the kitchen and started eating.

"Morning," I said when she entered the room and she greeted me back. "Um...Mom, I was wondering if I could go in the town with some friends today," I asked munching my pancake.

"Friends? Sure. Will Aleksander come as well?" she asked washing some dishes. I stiffened. What should I tell her? Of course the little Bulgarian stuck up guy wouldn't hang around Gilbert and the others. But mom didn't know that.

"No," I said in the end and it was true. She turned to look at me and I stiffened again.

"Well, you should invite him too. I bet he'd be glad," she proposed and sat at the table.

"I don't know if he wants to. How should I put this?" I scratched my chin thoughtfully. My mom waited for me to answer but suddenly I felt my neck going dry. "I don't think he likes my friends..." I tried to look like a worried best friend.

"How so?"

"They are kind of loud. He likes quite people," it wasn't actually a lie. It was true that Aleksander hated noisy people, but that was just because he hated people in general. Sometimes I just think that I should stop pretending, but I can't. To be truly honest I like this game. Long time ago I wanted to become an actor and this situation offers me the chance to act.

The front door opened and I jumped scared. My mom smiled so it seemed that she had expected someone to visit her. Good. It meant that it wasn't the guy next door. I continued to munch on my pancakes, thinking about the meet up with Gil. I hadn't even realise when someone entered in the kitchen, because I thought it should be my mother. But it wasn't. On the chair next to mine sat Aleksander and I almost choked my food.

"W-what are you doing here?" I asked, eyes as wide as the dinner plates. He seemed unimpressed, but for a short, very short moment I thought I saw him grinning faintly.

"So you are going in town today I heard," he completely ignored my question. His gaze landed on somewhere in the kitchen, anywhere but not at me. I, on the other hand, stared at him without shame.

"Da*," but then Aleksander looked at me silently telling me that it wasn't a question. He knew. My mother must have told him.

"What hour?"

"4 pm. Why?"

"Be ready at 3:30," he said and stood up. I followed him and grabbed the hoodie he was wearing to make him turn his face to me, to make him explain. And Aleksander turned to face me with a bored look. "What?"

"You can't be coming," I tried my best to keep my voice calm and low in case my mother was around. "I'm going with Gil and the others," I explained.

"I figured out that much," Aleksander scoffed and I frowned. "That's why I am coming," and he left.

This is so...aghhh! Annoying brat. Ce mă fac?*


	4. Fiesta

_"There's never too much beer in a man's life..." ___

__**Tap. Tap. Tap.** _ _

__My bed was nothing but a pile of clothes._ _

__**Tap. Tap. Tap.** _ _

__My closet looked as if a tornado had knocked it._ _

__**Tap. Tap. Ta-.** _ _

__Hang on. Just hang on a minute! I ruffled my hair in exasperation, then my gaze landed on the nightstand, which seemed to be the only place clean in that room. I felt like dropping myself on my knees as in some sort of a prayer, thing you usually see in movies. But I didn't. Outside the weather was all nice and peaceful, even some birds chirped in the forest, but I felt miserable._ _

__I had no idea what to wear. And that made me feel like a woman..._ _

__Drace,* I am no woman! I frowned. Just grab the first cloth your hand lands on. I looked at my phone. It was already 3:14. I had to hurry so my plan would fail. I jumped in the bed and grabbed a pair of skinny crimson jeans, a black tank top and a tartan shirt. I put a hoodie above all this. I went to stare in the mirror. I looked almost perfect, so I put on my hand a silver bracelet with a dragon. I took my keys and my phone and left the room._ _

__The plan was the following:_ _

__"Leave home before 3:30 pm and call a cab, this way the green eyed demon wouldn't catch you and then you can have a great evening with your friends!" a little voice whispered in my head. And I felt like kissing myself for coming up with such a brilliant plan! Instead I just went downstairs, grabbed my umbrella in a hurry and opened the front door._ _

__Only to have my blood freeze in my veins, my eyes going as big as planets, a drop of cold sweat ran down my temple._ _

__"Going anywhere, Lupei?" Aleksander, the frigid Bulgarian guy who lived next door was leaning his body against the doorjamb as if it were the normal thing to do at you enemy's house. I faked a smile and my hand wanted to close the door right in his face, but his was faster and he caught the door before I could slam it in his face. Damn!_ _

__"Get out of my house!" I almost yelled._ _

__"I'm not even inside, idiot," he said completely bored._ _

__"Well, it doesn't matter. Just get out of my sight!" I tried to take the door back but he was still holding it. I was supposed to be more powerful than him, still he seemed to top me. 'That's what happens if you don't eat your vegetables, young boy!' sounds like something my grandmother would definitely say at a time like this._ _

__"That won't happen. I promised your mother to take good care of you, kiddo," he said and at that time I really felt the urge to strangle the soul out of him._ _

__"We are the same age!" I retorted._ _

__"Well, your mother doesn't seem to notice it and it's no wonder. After all, you are an idiotic, annoying, loud brat," he said and grabbed my arm pulling me outside. In the process I dropped my keys, but he was faster and his long fingers caught them, shoving the little pieces of metal in his pocket. Shit!_ _

__"I'm sorry I'm not as perfect as you, Balakov! I rolled my eyes, but that's when another brilliant plan popped up in my mind. What if I ran away while he was locking the door? I was a fast runner so maybe he wouldn't catch me._ _

__The next second, I was running as if I were chased by the Devil himself. Well, most of it was true. Aleksander was a devil, a big nasty cold one, on top of it. I didn't dare to look back, he didn't even yell at me so I thought he had given up. I continued running, and on my very hasty little chase, I found myself tripping over something, even I don't know what that was, because I didn't see anything. I must have tripped over something that never existed to begin with! Double shit!_ _

__"Watch out, you idiot!" a hand gripped my hoodie and pulled me back, only to meet a recently washed fabric. I landed on his chest, on Aleksander's chest. Triple shit? "Look, Lupei. I don't like you either. You are loud, careless and an idiot. But I have to watch over your sorry ass and that's it. Please surrender yourself by your own free will, or I'll have to take you by force. It's up to you to decide," he said and I pulled back from his grip, but he didn't let m go._ _

__"I'll choose the third variant," I said playfully. He looked confused. "The variant in which you bugger off," I flashed him a closed eyes kind of smile, waved my hand at him and turned my back to go, only to be stopped again, this time more forcefully. Aleksander sunk his fingers in my shoulders nailing me there. The leaned forward and whispered in my left ear._ _

__"Vladimir Lupei," a pause followed. "I gave you two options earlier, but you refused to choose. Now, we are doing it my way," he approached his lips more to my ear and I started to get nervous. Shit. Shit. Shit! Everything but not my ear. "Your time's out, lad," the last words were low, imposing and I felt a shiver running down my spine. This was no good. And then just like that, he lifted me on his shoulder just like Gil did a week ago. What was wrong with them for they all treated me like a sack full of potatoes?_ _

__"Put me down, you sick bastard!"_ _

__But he ignored me. Instead he stopped at the bus stop and we took the first bus to arrive. Of course people had stared at us intensely, some girls started giggling but he kept holding me like that, although I complained about it. I heard an old lady saying something like: Youngsters nowadays. Aleksander was a complete idiot._ _

__"Is he ok?" a girl asked probably pointing at me, but I couldn't see her for she was behind my back._ _

__"Yes, he is. He happened to trip over something and his leg hurts to the point he can't even walk. It would be harder to try carry him other way so..." he said in an innocent, worried voice and suddenly the urge to strangle him came back. How could he act so sweet in front of some girl he hadn't even met before, but when we first met each other he treated me as if I were his greatest enemy?_ _

__"Oh, poor him! You should take him to the hospital!" she said._ _

__"Actually we are visiting my uncle who is a doctor so it's ok. I tried to call him but he won't pick up," what a good actor he was. I growled._ _

__"Are you ok?" I could feel the Bulgarian stiffen under me. I grinned. What should I do? Should I pretend or should I tell her it was a all lie?_ _

__"I-I'm fine," my voice was low, a little scared, pained. I decided to play his game. My love for acting was too great to let that chance slip, anyway. "It hurts only a little..." I panted only to add some drama._ _

__"Maybe you should put him down.." she suggested and I mentally grinned. Oh, she was falling for it and maybe I could escape._ _

__"I don't think it would be a good idea," Aleksander's voice wasn't confident anymore. Maybe the girl had no idea about that, but I could feel it and it made me pleased to see him troubled. By me. "Vlad, just hang on a little. We will arrive soon," he said trying to seem worried, but I knew what he actually meant: Don't you dare to ruin my story, idiot, or I'm going to make you regret. CAN'T YOU SEE I'M FLIRTING? I would have grinned but there was something else that caught my attention. Did he call me Vlad? Not Vladimir, not even Lupei. But Vlad. He had to pretend we were close friends, huh? What a flirt. I puffed giving up teasing him. How ungraceful! Doing all this to impress a girl._ _

__"Yeah, you are right, Aleks," I said in a sweet approving voice, but the double meaning was: Bugger off, you are annoying. I bet on my fangs he got it because his lean body tensed, his grip became stronger._ _

__After all we left the bus and I could see the girl for the first time. She had long brown hair that is somewhat wavy at the ends and green eyes. Then the bus doors closed and the vehicle left with the girl as well. I didn't say anything. It pissed me off, his attitude, so much that I became ridiculously calm. For my surprise, Aleksander put me down._ _

__"Are you ok?" his voice seemed plain, but not glacial. I didn't bother to look at him, instead I nodded and turned my back and left. "You know, I know you're lying..." I shrugged. My body turned automatically to face him._ _

__"Bugger off, Balakov. I'm sick of your games," those words, I felt them from deep inside my soul. Aleksander's emerald pools widened in surprise, but I ignored it, called it 'acting', and left. He didn't even follow me. Tch._ _

__BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._ _

__Oh, that had to be my cellphone, which rang frantically in my pocket. I stopped and shoved my hand in left pocket to fish my phone out of there. My fingers wrapped around the slim, lustrous object and I looked at the screen._ _

__GIL._ _

__A photo with his bird on his head was shown on the background. My lips automatically curled in a small smile._ _

__"Yes?" I said as I picked up._ _

__"Um, hey. Where are you, frate*?" I chuckled at hearing the last word. I taught him it, but his pronunciation was so funny and so far from the real thing._ _

__"I just got in the town 10 minutes ago, but I don't know how to reach Pub &Go,"_ _

__"Oh. It's ok. Stay where you are. Don't even dare to move a finger," and he hung up. I starred confused at the little object I had in my hand. What was Gil planning to do? But I had no time to even lift a finger, for he was behind my back, gripping my shoulders gently. "Heh, you were pretty close and this hair of yours makes you stand," his grin was wide, but nothing like feral. Gil wrapped his fingers around my hand and dragged me across the street, between the traffic._ _

__We stopped in front of a two floored beige building which had "Pub &Go" written above a black door with ochre, hand-written letters. It had large windows but I couldn't peek inside._ _

__"Like it, Junge?* he asked in a pretty satisfied tone which meant he knew my answer already. I chuckled softly and nodded. "Then let's get going," and we entered the building. Inside the air was unbreathable, thick smoke blurred my vision. The lights were weak and it seemed crowded. Was I in hell, by any chance?I involuntary coughed. "Not used to the smoke, eh?" Gilbert said in an amused tone and I shook my head in disapproval. "You'll get used to it, eventually."_ _

__"Oh, mon ami, what do we have here?" Francis flashed me a smile and I waved my hand at him. He was staying at a table in a corner with Antonio. To be honest I was kind of surprised to see him wearing a blue shirt with two buttons unbuttoned and a black tie. What could I say? Somehow it really fit him._ _

__"Hola, mi amigo!" Antonio was smiling cheerfully at me, waving his hand enthusiastic. He was wearing a white blouse and an unbuttoned black vest._ _

__"Hiya!" I sat down at the table._ _

__Those three were inseparable and everybody knew it. Gilbert, Francis and Antonio were known as the Bad Touch Trio or Bad Friends Trio. When I asked a few persons about it, they pretended not hear me. So I gave up, apparently, but my curiosity was not something one could just turn off, you know. As far as I got it, Gilbert loved rock and he was crazy, narcissist and creative. Francis was charming, passionate about fashion and as far as I heard a good chef. Antonio was cheerful, loved food and old weapons. But what was the thing that brought them together? Was it their strange behavior or something else?_ _

__"So, Vlad, what desires your heart? A drink maybe?" Francis smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively._ _

__"Yeah, I guess so." It didn't seem to be a bad idea. What could possibly go wrong?_ _

__3 beers later_ _

__"How about we play," a long pause followed," a game?" Gilbert grinned widly, playing absently with his glass of beer._ _

__"Oui, mon chéri, that would be magnifique!* Francis clapped his hands._ _

__"S¡, s¡! We should play that game!"* that caught my curiosity._ _

__"What game?" and they all turned their gazes at me smirking devilishly._ _

__"Truth or dare," they said at the same time._ _

__"Da! Da! I'm in!"* I shouted raising my fist in the air._ _

__"Gut, then, I'll ask first. Francis, truth or dare?" Gil turned his body to face the French._ _

__"Onhohonhonhon," he laughed. "Dare, bien sûr!* Was there a time I chose something else?"_ _

__"I was making myself sure. I wouldn't want to hear you whining about me being insensible," the other retorted playfully._ _

__"That's just mean, Gilbert."_ _

__"Ja, ja. Ich weiß.* I dare you to drink beer!" then I realised that Francis was having wine. I remember asking myself: how did he got that? Wasn't alcohol forbidden for underage like us? But I was too happy to think about it that time. The French frowned in disgust._ _

__"Fine!" he took my beer and drank from it. "Happy now?" Gilbert smirked. "Uhhh..tastes awful!" We all laughed at his pained face. "Laugh all you want, but that's my opinion anyway."_ _

__"Antonio! Is your turn!" the albino pointed at him smirking in a strange way._ _

__"Dare, mi amigo! Test me!" his face was all flushed and I wondered if it was because of the alcohol he had or because of something else._ _

__"Lick your elbow," I burst into laughing. Antonio threw him a strange gaze and stuck his tongue out. I watched curiously. Could he really do it? And he did it. "In your face, beer lover!" he said._ _

__"Yeah, you got me with this one. Who would have thought you had such a long tongue anyway?" another set of laughter was unleashed._ _

__"And now, it's your turn, Romanian dude," Gilbert's long finger pointed at me and I felt my heart beating faster in enthusiasm._ _

__"Truth," I wasn't too drunk to be stupidly brave._ _

__"You're lying, right?" he frowned._ _

__"No. Why would I?"_ _

__"You can't be serious. I know we call this came truth or dare, but it's only dare," he explained rising his beer in the air to seem more dramatic._ _

__"Leave the lad alone, Gil, you were like that too, two years ago," a British accent, loud firm steps. A rather pale hand slamming on the table. I looked up and met a pair of green eyes roofed by black bushy eyebrows. Arthur Kirkland! He dragged a chair and sat down at our table. But what surprised me the most was that he had piercings, a black T-shirt with a white skull, black skinny jeans and a tartan red shawl. His nails were painted with black polish. Can you believe? The student council president was all of the above and certainly, much more than that._ _

__"Shut up, Arthur. Anyway, what are you doing here?"_ _

__"Well, I had no business at home and I thought to check up this place," he explained. "Truth or dare, huh? Or should I say Dare or Die Alone?" he puffed. "I'm joining," Arthur announced._ _

__"Fine. But you'll have to wait. Vlad just chose truth and I have no idea what to ask him," the albino said a bit disappointed._ _

__"Just go for the usual. Love and relationship things always work at times like this," the Brit proposed and I saw Gilbert's face lighting up suddenly as if he saw a treasure, no less._ _

__"Danke, Alter! he turned to look at me. "So, Vlad, I heard that you are still single. Is that true?" I felt my face warming._ _

__"Yeah...kinda," I sipped my beer, not daring to look at them. I was a bit embarrassed. They were probably dating someone, but I was still a loner. Lame, huh?_ _

__"Fret not, lad, you'll find someone pretty quick with that cute face of yours," Arthur said, lime-green eyes staring at me intensely, a small smile playing on his lips. I nodded. Was he honest? "Don't waste your time asking, git, I choose dare. Come at me with all you have," Gilbert seemed to enjoy the Brit's behavior or at least that was what I had thought at that moment._ _

__"I dare you..."_ _

__6 beers and a bottle of wine later_ _

__"And you know..." the Brit said while he rested his head on the table, his right hand on the empty bottle, "he said he totally hated me and left," he continued facing the table. I had no idea what he was talking about, he refused to give names, but he seemed very upset. "I don't know what to bloody do anymore! He's such an asshat!" he whined and I felt bad for him, my hand involuntary patted his back._ _

__"It'll be ok," I said although I had no idea if it was true or not. But he seemed to calm down a little as he smiled faintly at me, murmuring a 'maybe'._ _

__"Call Alfred. He's drunk again," said Francis and Gilbert nodded. "It seems that they had a fight again. Really, this two morons don't do anything but argue. It's time they accept their...you know and get over it already," I had the impression that even more than half drunk they still had some secrets they wanted to keep away from me. I got curious again, but said nothing._ _

__"Alfred? Ummm...this the awesome me, Gilbert," the albino said. "Well, I called because, you know, Arthur got drunk," a pause followed. "Yeah, again. I know. I know," another one, but shorter. "I know. Look, Alfred, I wouldn't be calling, but he is really upset about something and I think you know why," his face became serious. Yet another pause. "So you're coming?" he seemed relieved. "Great. We are at Pub &Go," and he hung up. "Done. He's coming to pick him up," he announced._ _

__"Alfred?" the Brit raised his head. "You must be kidding, right? I don't want to see his stupid face anymore. I'm going home!" he stood up, but he had poor balance. Antonio caught him._ _

__"Stay calm, Arthur. No Alfred will come near you," I frowned._ _

__"You promise, git?"_ _

__"Si," and the blonde sat down._ _

__Silence fell upon us. I started to feel sad too and suddenly my throat craved for more beer. I reached Gil's and took it without even asking. He didn't seem to mind, however._ _

__"Yo, dudes!" a loud voice said after ten or more minutes. "Geez, I can't believe he actually fell asleep," Alfred said pointing at the sleeping Briton. The Trio shrugged._ _

__"You know, you should do something about him. I know he is annoying, but he's not a bad person," Francis said in a serious tone._ _

__"Hmm? Oh, I guess he went all crazy complaining about me again, huh? He must be hating me with such a strong passion," he said the last sentence in a whisper, and I don't think the others heard. He lifted the Brit and left._ _

__"You know, I think it's time we go home," Gilbert proposed and I nodded. So did the others. "Bushy-brows ruined it all. So...Tschüss!*_ _

__"Au revoir!*_ _

__"Adiós!"*_ _

__"Pa!"*_ _

__And we parted._ _

__I said that we would go home, but frankly speaking I have no desire to do so, nor can I do it. And I feel like my head is going to explode any second. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to drink so much, but to be honest, I was so irritated and frustrated because of that damned neighbour of mine. So I just stood outside in front of the pub, waiting for who knows what to happen. It wasn't like I could think clear, anyway._ _

__"You look awful. Worse than you do on your best day," my eyes turned automatically to look at him. Could that day go worse? I turned my back at him, deciding to ignore the idiot. "Tch. You are even more annoying when drunk, you know?" he scoffed._ _

__"I dun' care. You are annoying all the time too, don't think that I'm pleased to see your stuck up face, because I'm not. Now, scatter," I said walking away slowly because my vision was bad and my legs refused to listen to me. He puffed and put his hands on my shoulder then turned me around, sighing. "Anyway, how did you find me? Were you spying on me? Stalker!"_ _

__"It's not hard to figure out where could the Trio go. Now, behave and let me carry you."_ _

__"No way! You are gonna drop me! I know you want to do it!"_ _

__"What makes you be so sure?"_ _

__"Well, duuh. You hate me, don't you?" I said shrugging, while I played a little nonchalant grin on my lips. Actually I felt a bit bitter inside. "And..." I paused finding it hard for me to talk, "don't try to deny it. It would be useless, 'cuz I won't believe you anyway," I was getting dizzier. "But..." I sighed, "that's ok. I hate you too and I will always will. It's a promise. Pinky swear?" I showed him my pinky. He sighed turning his back at me and for a second I had thought he was going to leave me there and my hand involuntary grabbed his cloth._ _

__"I wasn't going anywhere, you know. I just wanted you to jump on my back so I could carry you home. Unfortunately I have no money left to take the bus," he said and I felt like punching myself. What was I doing?_ _

__"It's not like I care anyway," yes, deny it all. Denial is the best way to solve an embarrassing problem. I jumped on his back and he started walking. I wondered if I was heavy, but I didn't ask him. I wouldn't want him to think that I actually could care about him. I promised to hate him, right?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drace= Devil (but here's used like: Damn it! or Heck!)
> 
> Frate=Brother (used like: bro, dude.)
> 
> Junge=Lad
> 
> Hola! Mi amigo!= Hey! My friend.
> 
> Oui, mon chéri=Yes, my dear.
> 
> Magnifique=Wonderful
> 
> Si=Yes
> 
> Da=Yes
> 
> Ja, ja. Ich weiß. =Yes, yes. I know.
> 
> Tschüss!= Goodbye!
> 
> Au revoir= Goodbye!
> 
> Adiós!=Goodbye!
> 
> Pa!=Bye!


	5. Morning light

_"The sun entered through our window, but for him it was still dark..."_

**It's hot.**

I feel like there is something blocked in my chest when I try to breath. My eyes feel heavy too, and I can't even think about opening them. My legs...

I can't feel them anymore.

One thing I can't complain about: it smells nice, of freshly washed clothes and, probably, of mint. I sniff the air as if I can't get enough of it. My arms are numb too.

Warm gentle fingers tare touching my back. That's when my eyes instantly shut open only to have myself frozen. Completely. The fingers continue to linger on my back- my spine- to be more precise. I shuddered feeling shaken. The other hand is traveling across my chest and the thumb insists on my collar bone and it is pinning me against the floor. That's when I realise my position. My legs are wrapped around HIS waist, my arms around HIS neck and until he shoved me to the ground I had been hugging HIM, Aleksander Balakov. Is this some sort of a nightmare? I wished so.

I can't recall what happened last night. It's out of my reach. 'This is weird. He really is asleep...is he having a sexy dream? IS this guy even able to do have this kind of feelings, of desires?' I am asking myself as he is grabbing my waist with both of his hands. 'Well, dunno. It seems that way so...Anyway, why am I allowing him to do something like this?' But it is already kind of late to ask that. He is now on top of me, pressing his body against mine. 'Is this guy seriously asleep?'

"Don't fuck with me!" my voice is threatening and desperate and fortunately this seems to awaken him. Good. His emerald eyes open and he stares intensely at me. I've never seen him so serious, so mature and so...Wait. This is Balakov we are talking about. I'm not supposed to stare at him. "Why are we on the ground sharing the same blanket?" I ask suspiciously narrowing my eyes.

"Why not?" he answers, still standing on top of me. I bet my eyes are wider than the moon.

"..."

"Don't make that face. You were the one who sneaked under my blanket, after all. You tell me." Is he completely awaken? His hair was messy and his green eyes narrowed.

"I don't know!" I snap frustrated. What the hell is this morning about?

"That's because you are an irresponsible brat and you got drunk last night. Not that I expected anything else," he puffs running a hand through his pitch black hair.

"Huuuuh?! That's just plainly rude! You don't know me, so don't make presumptions about me!" I say pushing him off of me, but his hand grabs my wrists pinning me to the ground, yet again. For some reason he seems annoyed.

"I don't need to know you, nor do I need to know them. They drink. A LOT. And you are a brat. That's all to it," he explains in a low husky voice as if I am stupid or something.

"Acting so cocky all of sudden! Using me to flirt with girls, what a sorry excuse of a man!" I snap as well, trying to release myself, but he is awfully more powerful than me all of sudden.

"Excuse me?!" Aleksander asks in an affected voice.

"You heard me! You were definitely flirting with her," I roll my eyes in disgust.

"I did not do such a thing! And even if I did what's your problem? That you couldn't be in my place? Next time let's swap. She wasn't my type anyway," for some certain reason his gaze becomes more and more intense. As if he's hiding something from me. Is he? Who knows. But this single idea is getting me all curious and stuff.

"Ooooh, wasn't your type, you say. Right. Then why did you pretend to be my bestie?" I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively. I bet on my fangs he can't nor will answer this truthfully.

"That's none of your business," he spat. I puff. See? Insincere stuck up bastard. Have I ever mentioned I really wanted to strangle him?

"See? Told you!" I say triumphantly.

"You deaf or what? I said she is not my type," oh, he really is annoyed! His expression was priceless.

"Then what's your type?" I decide I have to tease him more.

"Ummm...well...you see..." for some unknown reason he is reluctant. I wonder why. No really. I wonder why.

"I'm listening. Go on," my sadistic side started to show. He, for sure, is a person full of secrets. I wonder how bad are they, how much they hurt him, piling all inside, never reaching the light called truth. It must be tough.

"She has to have a flat chest, blonde hair and dark eyes," Balakov tells me looking away. Why is he looking away? Never mind.

"You have pretty messed up tastes, you know?" I say narrowing my eyes.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he looks at me his eyes boiling with anger. "W-what's your type?" why is he asking me? I pause to think how to answer his question. Really...what's my type? Do I have something like this? If so, I have never noticed anyway.

"I don't have a type," I replied.

"How so?"

"I've seen a lot of cute girls, but dunno why something was off about them," that one is more to myself than to him.

"That's fine. We are young...we have time," his voice is getting softer. I find myself nodding.

"Yeah..." I agree. "Wait," I suddenly remember my position. "Why am I discussing this with you? It's none of your business what I like and what I don't," I try to shove him off of me and he finally gets off of me.

"Isn't it too late for that?" he says in his usual icy stuck up voice, while giving me are-you-serious kind of stare.

"I dun' care. Just mind your own business," I stand up pointing my index at him.

"You were the one who asked me in the first place! You practically forced me to tell you!" he snaps.

"Because you used me to flirt with her!" I retort.

"I said I didn't!" he shouts. OH MY GOD. He shouted. Jack Frost could shout! Daily MailI have hot news for you and for the entire British population: Balakov can actually shout!

"I don't care what you say. I know what I saw and it bothers me. Next time do it when I am not around. I don't want to help you in any other way, Mr.-I'm-so-stuck-up-I-can't-even-laugh!" I am getting pretty annoyed myself.

"What? Of course I can laugh! Only that your stupidity is so big I can't even laugh at it. I bet you can't even tell a funny joke and don't try to tell me one or I'll tell your mother a not so pretty joke about how you got drunk and I had to save you," he grimaces standing up and sending me death glares.

"Fine. Then I'm leaving. I can't even breath the same air as you...idiotule!"* And I leave the house.

Outside is damn cold. The sun had just risen. A sunny day. I kind of missed that. The air is fresh and I inhale deeply as if I can't get enough of it, as if I am addicted. Well, practically everyone is, except Balakov. He's special. I roll my eyes and hit a pebble with my right foot in annoyance. Why the hell am I still thinking about him? It annoys me so much that no matter what I do or whenever I may go, I end up thinking about him.

I open the front door of my house, a wonderful scent of freshly cooked pancakes and coffee is tickling my nostrils. I sigh delighted while taking my shoes off and almost dancing to the kitchen where I find my mother happily cooking. She had the radio turned on and a nice French accordion song is being played by the little machine on the table. The sun rays are entering through the slightly opened window, the light columns caressing portions of the kitchen with their warmth.

"Morning, mom," I sit down at the table smiling softly. What a peaceful atmosphere! She turns to look at me and her small mouth curls in a smile. "May I help you?" But she shakes her head in disapproval and turns to her cooking. I shrug my shoulders. Whatever has gotten into her this morning...it's either a good thing or a bad bad thing. I prefer to think it's good.

Another French song starts and I relax my head on my palm and glance at the window. I can't really recall what happened yesterday. I mean, I remember having a fight with Balakov, going to Pub&Go with Gil and the others, playing Dare or Dare and then...I sigh.

"Daydreaming already?" my mother's voice interrupts my thoughts and I turn my gaze to see that she just placed a plate full of pancakes with Nutella in front of me. For some unknown she had a weird smirk ghosting on her lips. Women...weird creatures.

"Wha-?" I ask surprised. What does she mean by that? I shrug it off. "Nope. I was just thinking..." my words trailed off as I stuff my mouth with a pancake. She puffs softly and I raise my eyes from the plate only to find her resting her head on her palm, just like I was a couple of moments ago. "What?" I clear my throat after I finish my pancake.

"You came earlier than I expected. Did you and Balakov have a fight?" my mother was slightly worried. I almost choke my food. How did she know? I frown. I don't think I should tell her. Why are you covering him up? A sudden thought crossed my mind. He's my enemy. And if I tell her we had a fight she might leave me alone, she might actually say something like: 'oh, then he was no good for you. It's ok. Let's forget about him and drink some coffee'. I nodded. "Oh, darling," she sighs and pats my shoulder over the table. "But why? You seemed to get along so well!" I smile weakly at her. "You have to tell me what happened. Did you upset him or it was the other way?" so many questions. Why can't she just drop it? I half knew the answer anyway.

"You know I hate blaming others, but it was him who started it," I return to my food deciding that I can't possibly let it go cold. But it's not enough for her. She wants the whole story and I can see it in her eyes that don't cease to follow my every action. I give up. "Yesterday he came to pick me up as we agreed," I mentally roll my eyes,"and get in the bus. But he started to flirt with a girl. And he used me to show off, so that she could be all like: look how caring he is towards his friends! And I played his game as a good person that I am. But after we got off I suddenly felt like punching him and stuff and I left. After that I spent the day with Gil and the others. We talked about random stuff and drank some coffee, but at some point the party cracked and all left. I met him in front of the cafe and after that...I dunno. I ended up walking with him to his house. After that nothing much happened," or it did, but I can't remember anyway. I am refraining from adding that though. "And today I woke up..." my words trailed off. I can't really tell her all the details, like how he massaged my back and ughhh..I remembered again. "And I dunno. I was kinda grumpy and he seemed like that as well..and we had a fight," I scratch my head.

For a while, she didn't say anything. At the radio a man is announcing in a low baritone voice, the kind of voice anyone would love to hear when they are small as a child, covered with a blanket and waiting for the story before sleeping.

"And the next song is called 'Amor, Amor' by Buddha Bar and Arno Elias."

I let myself carried away by the Spanish notes. I don't really know Spanish, but it sounds nice, plus I can guess some of the words because Romanian is a Latin language. The title, though...has me clenching my teeth. Amor. Oh, the irony.

"What was the argument like? I mean..details, darling. I need them," I really want to give her a what-the-fuck kind of stare but I can't really do that. Damn.

"He said something bad about my friends and I retorted by telling him that he used me to flirt with a girl. And he said it was not true, but I said he was lying and I asked him about his type in girls and he answered and then asked me this question and I answered but in the end I snapped again and told him he used me to flirt with her and he said he didn't and I left." Ok. I can't give her all the details.

"And what's his type?"

I choke my food. Again.

"Blonde. Dark eyes. Flat chested." I whisper. "Happy?" She chuckles.

"And yours?" Now this is getting rather personal. "Awww, don't make that face. I'm your mother." That's exactly why I'm making that face. But I can't say it out loud. "So?"

"I don't have one," I reply simply and stab the pancake with a fork. I really wish we could stop having this conversation. It's awkward.

And somehow, she seems to have read my mind or something because she didn't say anything. With a last munch, I finish my meal and stand up stretching. Mom takes my plate, not letting me to wash it. I shrug and go upstairs throwing my body in my bed. Oh,holy fluffy mattress, how I missed your softness, I'm never going to leave you ever again! I roll from side to side like an idiot, but after a couple of moments I end up lying on my back, glancing at the ceiling. Time to take a shower!

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Mondays? No? Well, I am now telling you that I don't simply hate Mondays, I truthfully despise Mondays. And here's the reason:

"Now, now, don't make that long face. It's not like I like spending time with you all of sudden, but this is important!" he is explaining this to me, but all I can actually do is roll my eyes in annoyance. "Anyway, mom's inviting your mom and you to dinner tonight. And you better be there. 7PM. Dress in something decent," Mr. Stuck Up announces and leaves my room.

"Fuck you!" I yell at him throwing a pillow after him, but it lands on the door. The bastard is already gone. Tch.

Oh, and now you're probably wondering yet again what happened in here just a couple of moments ago. Well, to tell the truth...

_After I stepped out of the shower, all relaxed and stuff, I headed to my bedroom only to find Balakov lying on my bed. My bed! MY BED! Oh, God! When he saw me he didn't even bother to stand up or anything, he just kept reading one of my books. I blinked many times hoping that it was just a hallucination. But nooo...! It was just as real as that. In the end I decided to ignore him and I went to my closet to pick some clothes. And so I did..._

_"You do realize I am in your room, don't you?" he asked as I was showing him my bare back. I also forgot to mention I was only wearing a towel._

_"Nope," I answered simply not turning to face him. I heard him sigh. Good. If I could annoy him, then why not do it?_

_"You are an idiot, just like usual, but this time I'll let this slip," he stated and closed the book putting it on my bed. I heard him get up and I turned to face him. Big mistake. Scratch that. Huge mistake. His features were as icy as ever, but for some reason he wasn't looking down at me. "Don't make plans for today after school...I'll explain it later, but don't. Ok?" I raised and 's up with that almost soft voice? It's not like he really cares._

_"Wut?"_

_"You. Me. Dinner," he paused. I felt my eyes widening. The hell...? "Mom and yours" Oh, I see. Mom did it again. But I didn't want to play their game. Oh, no, I didn't . I wanted to be upset. I wanted to punch Balakov for yesterday. I didn't want to make up with him and be all friendly and stuff. Sweet devil of French fries, the bastard was insufferable! So why should I...?_

_"No way. Go to hell."_

So, my dear ducklings, I must confess I have an extremely bad feeling about it.


	6. The idea

 

_"Here I am on the road again..."- Metallica_

 

* * *

 

**Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.**

Mr. Vargas's pleasant, warm voice goes on and on about the battles between the Dacians and the Romans. It isn't the first time I am listening to the story, but it always fascinates me how strong my ancestors used to be. Because today, we, Romanians, are not powerful at all, in fact most of us try to survive. We do not live. We struggle day by day, get looked down upon, get criticized and we are not united at all. No wonder I left when the opportunity arose.

Anyway, I am probably the only one who is actually listening, because more than half of my classmates are half asleep, idly staring at the whiteboard. Some are more blunt- they rest their heads on the desks or just stare out the window. Balakov, of course, is paying attention. And he is still wearing the always-oh-so-frigid expression, just like ever. It is, probably, the expression he loves the most judging by how often he chooses it. The idea of having to spend my evening in the same room as his sorry ass is infuriating. Can I say no? Yes. But do I want to confront my mum's wrath? No.

The bell suddenly rang and the class is over. Feliciano rises from his seat and comes to me before I even have the chance to stand up. He is giving me one of his heartwarming smiles and I can't believe how much he resembled his grandfather. Well, of course, Feli was more of an airhead, while Mr. Vargas seemed to possess, besides usual lack of seriousness, something more wild and vigilant.

"Ve, Vladimiro!" he calls and I flash him a smile. "Are you free tonight? Ludwig said that his  _fratello_  is going to have a party at his place and he wants you to come. Gilbert said he'd be delighted to have you around!" he announces.

"Of course I am! I'll co-..."

"No. He is, in fact, very busy, Feliciano. Thank you!" bitchy mode on. Balakov is doing it again and just like always stupor takes over me.

"Oh, I had no idea you two were friends..." Feliciano looks lost, but he doesn't say anything more than that.

"We are besties, now get lost," I swear that he almost spit the words.

"Balakov, stop talking to Feliciano like this! What has he ever done to you?!" I find myself boiling and the next thing I know I turn to face him. He frowns, obviously not amused.

"He's a fucking fag, that's why!" his voice is filled with disgust and anger flickers in his dark green eyes. I slap him. I simply do. I don't know why, but one thing I know for sure- he deserves any minute of it.

" **SHUT. UP.**  I don't know if he is and I don't care and... you know what- he's better than your sorry ass anytime!" I retort, get up, grab the Italian by the arm and run out of the classroom. Once we are far enough from the classroom, I let him go. "You ok,  _prietene*_?"

"Si...I guess," he mutters under his breath, soft eyes looking away. I feel sorry for him. No one should get treated like this, no matter their sexual orientation, race or religion.

"I'm sorry...I..." but my words dies on my throat and all I could do was look at him helplessly.

"No. It's fine," Feliciano says in the end, his soft brown eyes casted somewhere in the hallway. "I am who I am, I can't change it," he looks out of the window with an expression so bitter on his face that it shocks me. I never once thought that careless, happy Feliciano could ever look so put off. Unknown to my conscience, I reach my hand to put a hand on his shoulder, but he turns his head to look at me before I even get to touch him. "I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, Vladimir."

The bleak sunlight enters through the large windows of St. Andrew High, sinking that portion of hall in its surreal light. Feliciano, the Feliciano in front of me, has a small smile on his lips, but his eyes don't shine with happiness. In fact, he looks like he lost something, like he resigned...but with what? Seeing him like this, makes my heart clench. It is not fair, Feliciano is such a sweet caring guy...why should it matter if he likes guys more than girls? Or just guys?

"Feli...I...It's ok. I don't mind it," a soft whisper leaves my lips breaking the heavy silence. His chocolate eyes widen slightly, as if shocked and it only makes me want to punch Balakov some more. "You're a nice person and you're my friend."

Truth is, I have expected him to look a bit more relieved, but if anything, he is even more concerned after hearing my words. Why? "But what about Aleksander, then?" He says in the end.

_Why do you always worry about others, when you're the one who's in pain?_

It's not the first time he does this. A few days ago, we were casually talking about what Lovino did one time as a kid and we reached a part of the hallway in which the floor was wet, therefore slippery, but there was no sign and we both slipped and landed on our backs. Feliciano got up faster and instead of worrying about his possible injuries he immediately helped me get up and asked for a hundred times if I was ok. Some may think that he is just an airhead that cares only about pasta or other Italian stuff, but in reality he is more than just that. He's become my friend in the past week and seeing him being insulted like by Balakov, might I add, made me want to smite the arsehole on the spot.

With a sigh, I shake my head in disapproval. I would like to know what to do to get that asshat out of my life, yet I can't seem to find a solution that wouldn't hurt my mum or his, for that matter. "He's not my friend. We actually hate each other, but we're also neighbours and our mums get along so we try to play nice with each other..." I close my eyes.  _This is so troublesome._ _  
_

_"_ Hey there, birdies!" a loud chirping noise accompanied by a very excited yell interrupts me. Gilbert and his friends have just burst into the hall all noisy and cheerful as everyone knew them to be. I give Feliciano an apologetical look, but he is back to his usual cheerful self already. "What do we have here, huh? I hope you guys come to my party, 'cuz it would be such a shame if you don't!" Faking a pout at both Feliciano and me, Gilbert puts his arms around the both of us, but him being a few inches taller than us, he has to lean a little.

"Sure thing." I don't even know who said it first- Feli or me. But it doesn't matter, because the next thing I know, Gilbert is already off with Antonio making plans for the party, most probably. They are such a rowdy bunch, but they look like they were having fun. And this makes me smile for some reason.

* * *

The rest of the day of the day passed in a blur. I avoided the Bulgarian pest as much as I could and when we happened to sit near each other or just pass by each other, we simply pretended it was nothing. Not even once had I cast my eyes on him and I don't think he did.

Right now, I'm standing on my porch, my stomach full of my mum's delicious food and all wrapped in my trench coat against the cold autumn-like wind that is howling through the tall, dark and creaking trees of the forest. Looking up at the sky, I am met with oodles of tiny shiny stars spread across the dark moonlit sky. It's so peaceful tonight- mum is watching telly in the living room and I am waiting for Gilbert to come and pick me up.

Tonight is the night Balakov and I are supposed to have dinner. I told my mom I made plans before Balakov told me about it and she bought it, albeit a bit sad. What was that she said? Oh, yes, I remember.

_"But Aleksander is such a sweet young man and he was really looking forward to seeing you tonight. I bet that your friends would understand..."_

Even now, as I remember her words, I feel my left eyebrow twitching in annoyance. It took me a while to make her understand that, yes, Aleksander might be a good friend (not), but I had other friends too and I couldn't keep ditching them for him all the time. I needed to socialize. It wasn't even a lie- well, most of it. And she nodded in the end, somewhat resigned and went to watch telly until she was supposed to leave.

I feel bad for lying to her. I should have been honest from the start with her and tell her I can't stand Balakov's guts. But noo, I had to pretend and let myself get tangled in this mess. Truth to be told, I only did it to annoy him, to provoke him, to see if I managed to get a reaction out of him and mostly to make him very very uncomfortable and have him wrapped around my finger, but, somehow, he got to do that to me and I don't like it. I don't like it at all. Damn me and my sarcastic mouth!

Anyway, I'll find a way out of this. It's not too late to back off. I just moved here and mum can't be expecting me to be some sort of a soul-friend-mate with him. I can find a way to avoid the bastard and then say we just don't get along as well as we thought. See? Easy-peasy. I can feel my lips curling in a victorious huge grin. I am not smart for no reason! Should've thought about it sooner, really.

"Hey there, Vlad!" a voice accompanied by a loud honking military jeep pulled my out of my epiphany. Gilbert and the others are finally here. I wave my hand at them and the albino makes hurried motions with his hand to come to him. I stick out my finger, silently telling him to wait, and burst in the house to tell my mum I'll be going. She nods and tells me to be careful and soon I am back on my porch and Gilbert is impatiently looking at me, wanting me to come to him and his friends.

So I do. I stand up and go to his monster of a car, might I say, and get in the back where everyone is pressed against one another. I manage to squeeze in and close the door shut before Gilbert starts driving us away to his place in the centre of the city. I don't know how many we are in here, I can't see very well and the windows are black and no one can see from outside anything that happens inside, well except for the front seats. We are listening to "Whiskey in the jar" by Metallica and everyone is singing along the best they can. It seems that the party has started already.

It doesn't take us too long to arrive at Gilbert's, mostly because the German is driving like crazy and for once in my life I have luck and I am not carsick. Neither are his friends. And by some miracle there's no police after us, so if today isn't my lucky day, then I don't know what this is. Soon, ten or more people are bolting up the stairs of the apartment complex and somehow I find myself behind them all.

"Come on, I bet you could walk faster than this," a voice calls behind me. Apparently I am not the only one who's a bit behind. I turn and give Gilbert a little smile, while his pale lips are curled in a rather large teasing grin. I roll my eyes.

"I could say the same about you. You're behind me," I retort playfully.

"Yeah, but I am the host and I get to do what I want, buddy," he winks at me and I shook my head in disapproval. Gil and his antics...

And we all end up waiting for his majestic ass to unlock the door because somehow he managed to forget where he put his keys. That's why we're all cramped in front of his door while he is searching for them in his car. I am sitting on one of the stairs next to Feli who is simply smiling at a couple of guys chatting across of us.

"I swear he has a tribal dragon tattoo on his back!" one of them loudly says running a hand through his spiky unruly hair.

"No way, man. I don't believe that!" the other protests with a bewildered look plastered on his face. I believe his name was Alfred or something like that. The other guy though doesn't look too familiar to me.

"That was my reaction as well, but I've seen, Alfie. It's real," the other says. So, I remember correctly. Alfred. The loud American that for some reason loved pestering the student council president. Which reminds me, where is Arthur?

"Where's Arthur?" I ask all of sudden and make Feli turn his head to look at me. He shrugs.

"Haven't seen him," he says in the end and I nod. Somehow, these two aren't in the bestest terms and it makes me wonder why. Feliciano is definitely not a bad guy. Arthur may be a bit rough around the edges, but he is nice enough. To me at least, that's it. Maybe he treats Feliciano differently... Well, it could be true. Maybe Arthur is homophobic. But this leads to another question- how do people here see gays? I mean, I can't care less if someone is gay or not, but other have some other opinion. Is Feli having trouble? But I can't just ask him that so I keep my mouth shut and stare blankly at the people around me.

"The awesome me has arrived!" Gilbert announces as everyone steps aside to make him room to unlock the door.

"About damn time, Gil!" Alfred pats him on the back while the German unlocks the door. With a couple of clicks, the door creaks open and everyone bursts including Feliciano. I'll just wait for everyone to be inside then go. But Gilbert seems to have some other plans for he grabs my hand and drags me after him the loud crowd.

"Can't have you miss the party just 'cuz you prefer the stairs over a comfy couch," and next thing I know I am thrown on a really comfortable sofa which causes me to gasp in surprise. Gilbert's ruby eyes are sparked with amusement while he sits near me. "Toni, you do something about the music!" he shouts at the Spaniard across the room who nods and complies with a smile on his face.

In a couple of minutes we have some industrial rock music play on the background. Everyone is going from one room to another except for Gilbert, Antonio and me. I look quizzically at them, hoping they'd answer my unasked question. To my surprise, Antonio does, but only after I stare at him for five minutes or so.

"You don't have to do anything, don't worry. You're new here, so feel free to relax," he explains and I nod before starting to stare at the ceiling.

"How many are we going to be?" I ask.

"Others will come. Ludwig is yet to arrive. He's not a big fan of parties, but he makes an exception now and then," Gilbert explains. "I'll introduce some of them to you," he offers and I frown. "I don't think you know everyone in here. Not all of them attend St. Andrew High."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So how about it?" he turns to look at me. I shrug.

"I don't see why not."

"Wunderbar!*" he shots in his feet and I follow him in the kitchen where almost everyone is. "Hello, guys!" he says loudly at the inhabitants of the room and everyone turns to look at us. "Some of you may know him, but not all of you...he's Vladimir Lupei, from Romania. And he's awesome," Gilbert announces proudly and I stick my hand in the air and wave it at them. Mostly everyone smiles.

"Hi there, Vlad!" they say.

"Well, gut, I'll leave you to bond with them. If you need me, I'll be on the sofa," and with that Gilbert leaves. And soon I am approached by the tall guy with messy hair.

"Mathias Køhler, Danish, tall and awesome," he announces extending his hand at me and I take it and nod. "Wanna help with the food?" he asks all of sudden.

"Sure." I know what Gilbert said, but I don't feel like just sitting on the couch doing nothing. "What am I gonna do?"

"Can you make the pancakes?" he asks and I nod. "Good! Let's get going! Tonight's going to be fantastic!"

**To be continued...**

* * *

**prietene= friend (Romanian)**

**wunderbar= awesome (German).**

Sorry for the late update. If you read this, please tell me what you think! :D

 

 


	7. I think we have a problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party at Gil's doesn't go as planned...

I think we have a problem

"When you came in, the air went out..."

-Jace Everett

__________________________________

Only that things are never simple, are they? 

I mean, yeah, maybe for others they are, but that's not the case for me, unfortunately. 

After making the pancakes and filling them with a lot of Nutella and strawberry jam- apparently not everyone likes Nutella, can you believe that?!- I took the liberty to take the plates and put them on the small table in the living-room. 

But not after having a heated debate with Gilbert about whether his feet should or not rest themselves not-so-gracefully on the table. I'll have you know I had him Windex and scrub the living hell out of it, while a very amused Spaniard could barely hold his laughter back. 

"My feet are clean," He mumbles while he scrubs the table.

"You missed a spot," I say simply, completely ignoring him. 

"My feet are clean!" He nearly shouts, apparently ignoring me as well. 

"You missed a spot," I reply in a calm manner. 

"I said m-..." he starts in a loud angry voice, but he was smacked on the head before he could go on by a not-so-calm blonde, who also happens to be his brother. Huh.

"Shut up and do what he says. I've been here for only five minutes and you're already being stupid," Ludwig says in a rather pissed voice while he eyes his brother suspiciously. To think that Gilbert's older!

"Ja, ja. I was going to do it anyway. I don't see why everyone's picking on me," he mutters and throws me a meaningful glare. I feel my lips curling in a small grin. "Bastard."  
"Oh shut it, princess!" I roll my eyes.

"You...!" But he says no more and leaves the room and somehow I have a feeling he'll plot something later. But for now...pancakes!

"Mmm. These are actually good, dude!" says Alfred, clearly pleased with my Nutella pancakes. 

"You seem surprised though," I narrow my eyes as I am inspecting his face, but he bursts into light laughter, surprising me.

"Artie can't cook to save his life," he snickers as he stuffs his face with another huge bite of food. He is sitting next to me on the couch, barely sparing me a glance. 

"You seem fond of him," is what I say and it clearly attracts his attention, because next thing I know his blue eyes are fixed on me- two pools filled with questions and...fear? I cock an eyebrow at him. He swallows his food carefully and clears his teeth before responding.

"We grew up together."

He doesn't say anything else and suddenly there's tension in the air so palpable you could cut it with a knife. I clear my throat. "That's nice."

"Yeah, it is...it's just..." he shakes his head. "Sometimes he seems so distant, so foreign- it's like I don't even know him!" He complains, his eyes cast downwards. "Is it...is it normal?" This time he looks at me and I must have made a face because suddenly he's frowning. 

"Look. I'm not good with friendships or whatever, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

"Thanks, man!" He pats my shoulder and stands up. "I need some booze. Tonight I either get shitfaced or I'm not allowed to call myself Afred Jones!" He declares and some people cheer. I sigh.

"He's a handful, ain't he?" The Dane plops in next to me, carrying a can of beer in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. I eye it suspiciously before deciding I don't really want to know.

"I've seen worse." Matthias chuckles and offers me his beer. 

"Take it. I have this strong babe that requires my attention immediately," he raises the glass in the air, a smug grin plastered on his face. I grin too and accept his offer...what can possibly go wrong? "That's my bro!"

***

Have I ever told you how much I hate it when I manage to get myself in weird situations? No? Oh well, I am now.

And you know what else I am doing now besides being a tiny bit tipsy? Accepting challanges from even more drunk people than me. You think that's bad? 

You've no idea. 

"I dare you to wear underwear on your head and belly dance shirtless on the table!" Antonio shouts and suddenly the whole rooms cheers. 

"I ain't taking off my pants tonight." I say smugly.

"Yet," someone says and I quirk an eyebrow. 

"Ya can use mine, if ya want," Gilbert so proudly tells me and tosses a pair of black boxers in my direction. The crowd cheers and I pick them from my head with two fingers. 

Before I can say anything, a slightly amused French man chuckles. "No yellow birds on them? Shame. I liked those." He taunts. Some laugh. 

"Oh shut it, shitty beard!" Francis fakes a hurt face. "And Vlad, honey, I know you're not that appalled to have my underwear tossed at you," he winks and I feel my cheeks instantly flush in rage and embarrassment. 

"You son of a...!" I raise to my feet but someone grabs me by the waist and pulls me down. My butt is not amazed. "Ouch! Ce dracu...?!*"

"Hush, calm yo tits, you angry birdie," Gilbert speaks from behind me. When did he get there?

I've no idea.

"Lemme go, idiot!" I struggle and with a chuckle he lets me go. 

"Easy, man." I glare at him, but he doesn't seem to care. "So, belly dance?" He asks smugly and I roll my eyes. 

"How 'bout you do it, huh?" I challange. 

Surprisingly, he doesn't seem too thrown off by this idea. On the contrary, he looks rather pleased. "How 'bout we both do it?" He wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive way and suddenly everyone approves really loudly.  
Next thing I know there's music and Gilbert is staring at me intently, as if daring me to run away. But I'm no coward so I take off my shirt on an instant and I am greeted by appreciative whistles and shouting. But I'm not listening. 

My gaze falls on Gilbert, who is currently staring at me. No, scratch that- he's ogling at me. If I were actually sober, I'd be probably a bit freaked out or so I'd love to believe, but right now I am pretty curious and...flattered? 

I don't care.

"C'mon!" I shout at him. "Don't be a chicken!" 

It would seem that this is what he's been waiting for, because right after me shouting at him, he follows my example and takes off his shirt too. 

Yet again, the audience approves of the current situation. What I actually haven't expected was Gilbert really belly dancing. 

His smooth pale hips waved to the rhythm, gaining wild whistles and he's clearly caught me staring because now he is grinning all-knowingly at me. 

I can't help but feel a bit annoyed with his cocky demeanor so I follow, trying my best to match the rhythm. 

Thank Dionysus that I drunk a bit because now I'd be all awkward and moving stiffly, if I'd be moving at all, that is!

The crowd doesn't seem to disappointed by my performance, nor does he as he raises an eyebrow in surprise, but the kind he doesn't mind. I can't help but grin at that. He grins back and somehow, sometime in our dance and intent staring, the distance between us shortens dangerously.

Dangerously? What's dangerous about this situation? 

I frown. Gilbert frowns too and he grabs my chin, forcing me to look af him. I am standing in front of him, merely just a few centimeters from him and suddenly my lungs refuse to function properly. 

I feel my eyes widening in confusion as I look at Gilbert, covered in sweat, slightly flushed and still swaying his hips. His touch is warm. I am warm too, quite worked up because of the whole dancing thing. It's only normal that my breath is heavy, right? 

He is looking at me- his eyes crimson and unreadable- and he's still holding gently my chin.  
As soon as I realize that, there's tention. Heavy, thick tention and the music and chatter and whatnot becomes a background noise. 

Is he getting closer? Am I moving towards him too?

Are we...are we going to kiss? It would seem so. But whether we would've kissed or not will remain a mystery because suddenly someone's banging at the door and quite irritated because everyone starts panicking and murmuring. 

It doesn't take me too long to understand- it's the police. 

In my moment of panic, a grip of steel brings me back to the situation, pale fingers wrapped around my hand and alert eyes looking at me, he just whispers: "Run!" and I follow him without second thoughts or my shirt through the window. 

__________________________________

*Ce dracu? = What the devil? 

Hola there, my dear followers! Sorry for taking so long to update this story, but unfortunately my pc is still virused. *cries*. I know it's short and pretty boring but hopefully the next one'll be better.

*And there we have a sexy human Gilbert. :>

Cheers!  
Eris


	8. Feuer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping the police, Gilbert and Vladimir end up in an interesting place...

Feuer

"You know that saying about playing with fire?"

-R.E., DarkRed

__________________________________

The air is cold, but I don't have time to care. We bolt through the open window and I follow Gilbert on the thin windowsill, half scared to death, half excited by all that is going on.

Now Gilbert is effortlessly climbing down the fire staircase and in one short moment he motions that I come after him, his face half worried, half irritated. Giving him a teasing grin, I keep walking on my tiptoe to the stairs. 

Soon, I'm jumping off the ladder and then I start running as fast as I can, but not so fast since Gilbert doesn't seem like a big fan of life & death marathons. Frankly, I'm not either but apparently now I'm not in the position of arguing. 

"Over here!" He ushers in hushed tone pointing at a dark bush. I nod and follow without thinking, letting the branches scratch my bare arms and chest. 

After walking a bit further in what seems to be a forest, the both of us exhale longly before sitting down on cold damp ground. 

I don't know how long we've stood there in utter silence until one of us said anything. "You think they gonna find us here?" I ask in a bored voice. With the corner of my eye, I see him shrug.

"They haven't before." I eye him suspiciously and he smirks at me. "Oh, you bet your sweet ass I've done weirder shit than this."

"I'd rather leave my ass out of your weird adventures." 

His ruby eyes glimmer with amusement, but he doesn't say much. "You sure?"

"Yes. Very." I sigh. "How long are we going to stay here anyway? I'm freezing," I pout now suddenly impatient and annoyed. 

"Oh. Why didn't you say so?" He raises to his feet and I almost scramble up too, but he stops me. "I managed to grab this before jumping out the window. It might take a while before we're safe to go so...yeah." He almost sounds apologetic as he hands me his plaid shirt, but I know better than that.

"Are you sure? It's actually chilly tonight." I raise an eyebrow at him and expect him to back down, but he doesn't. In fact he alsmost shoves the thing in my hands. So I take it and mumble an embarrassed 'thank you'. 

"You know what? I think we should go to a pub or something! " He suddenly says after two minutes of silence. 

Eyeing him from head to toe, I let out a long sigh. "That's all nice and dandy, but you're sort of naked. You know, in case you've forgotten." 

"That won't be a problem if we go where I say," he tells me and he probably thinks he's all cryptic and shit, but he so isn't. 

"Ok, Gandalf. Take me to your secret crib and let's get this over with already." 

"Eager, ain't we?" 

I punch his arm playfully. "Stop messing around, you big dork. You promised me a party, remember?" 

"And a party you will get, my friend."

***

True to his word, after people bulging their eyes at him for being shirtless in such a cold night and at me for laughing almost the whole road to the pub at the silly faces he made. 

Pub&Go is more than meets to the eye. If you know the owner, you're let in 'the back' as everyone who knows about it calls it. 

The back is the basement, but it's not like your common damp, narrow and ocassionally the nest of a malevolent supernatural creature that is planning your death in the most gruesome ways. 

Nah. For starters, the place is huge. It's well-kept and the walls are covered in colourful graffiti and various small objects like wooden pendants, vinyls and other stuff like that. 

Also, the basement is packed with all sorts of people but I highly doubt anyone is some sort of fairytale being with ill intentions. 

The music is loud, catchy and slightly sensual, if you care to listen. To some it's just rhythmic, but to most is a good excuse to grind their more or less clothed hips to another person's ass. 

To each his own. 

I'm currently sitting at the bar, beer in my hand, the second since I arrived in here. No one's questioned me about my age. I showed up here with Gilbert and apparently that was all it takes for one to be accepted in here. If I actually was sober, I'd probably ask a shiton of question. 

"Good thing you aren't then," the bartender says suddenly making me jump. Did I just say that out loud? "I'm afraid you did." He offers me an apologetic smile.

I laugh nervously. Then I see. "You...you're Arthur. Arthur Kirkland!" I almost shout, but the blond's alarmed expression prevents me from doing that or saying anything too compromising. I take a generous sip of my beer. "Wow. This night is weirder than I thought it'd be," I confess. 

"Oh, hon, you've seen nothing," the Brit says, playfully winking at me. "I do hope tomorrow you don't have anything of importance to do, because you won't probably be able to lift a finger after tonight." 

"Is that a promise?" I challenge. 

"You bet it is." 

As if summoned by some sort of shady spell, Gilbert suddenly materializes behind my back. I honestly don't know when he's gotten back from the bathroom. 

Not wanting to lose to him, my lips curl in a coy smile and I touch his shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, darling. I so can take it," I state in a reassuring manner, but this doesn't seem to throw him off at all. If anything it makes matters worse. 

"Oh really?" 

"You bet your ass I can, princess." Oh yeah. Have I ever mentioned that I have a penchant for playing with fire and also getting burned? No? Well, I am now. 

"We'll see 'bout that, Twilight." He smirks. 

"Ooooo!" From behind the counter, Arthur covers his mouth while he signals my inevitable burn. 

"You'll so pay for this, Frosty," I warn, index pointed at his still naked chest. "Why're you still shirtless anyway? Didn't Arthur offer you one of his shirts?" I frown.

"That he did. But clothes are for pussies. I'm too hot to be covered by shitty fabrics." He wiggles his eyebrows at me suggestively and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he's flirting with me. 

"Please, you? Hot?" There's a pause and the self-proclaimed Prussian raises a questioning eyebrow. "When hell freezes over, buddy!"

This time Arthur is mumbling a series of curses and looks with pity in Gilbert's direction. 1-1. 

"Is that so?"

"Definitely." Initially, I didn't plan to say any more than this, but something in his provoking, amused and rather mocking gaze makes me go on. "You're shirtless and acting all high and mighty, but you're still hovering around me." 

"And?"

I frown. Doesn't he get what I'm trying to say? 

"What's the point of being hot, if you're just hanging around plain ol' me?" 

The music spices up; some powerful bass and intense feeling it possess. I find myself looking at him, waiting for an answer that'll probably never come. 

When out bodies touch lightly, I half-mindedly realize that I don't remember any of us actually moving. Was it me? Was it him? 

The air is hot, filled with various scents- some questionable, some rather appealing- and somehow my lungs feel like the air is both cool and burning hot. 

Gilbert. He is gazing at me ever so intensely and he's got that look on his face. That look that would want to say that something is on, but he is either not sure how to, if or he is not understanding his thoughts at all. 

Confusion. Hesitation. Curiosity. 

Curiosity? About what?

"What are we doing, Gilbert?" softly, I barely whisper yet again our faces inches apart. 

"I don't know. You tell me." 

There's playfulness in his tone, but not the cheery or cheeky type. He is hesitant, yes, but there's also a drop of casual, of tempting. 

"It's the second time this happens tonight. If I didn't know any better..." Somehow, I feel like I am onto something, but it's gone before I can catch it. If Gilbert knows, he doesn't mention it. 

"It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to. I could simply go away and do my stuff. Or...I could play with fire a bit. Just say the word, Vlad, and I'll oblige."

It's silent. Well, the music is blasting my head off, but my head is silent. The thoughts are passing with such force, I don't even feel them anymore. 

"What do you mean by playing with fire?" I enquire. Shockingly enough, I actually have a great idea where is getting at, but a guy can never be too sure. 

"Oh, I do think you know quite well what I am trying to say." Smirking like he owns the world he leans in just a very tiny bit letting our noses touch lightly, my breath halts if only just for half a second. "I could close this gap right now," he whispers, the hesitation in his voice almost imperceptible. "It could mean nothing if we decided so. It could mean something and we could choose whatever we'd fucking want." 

I bite my lip. "Why do you think I want to play with fire?" I try. Yes, I am buying myself time because honestly I don't even know what I want anymore. 

His smirk gets wider. "Trust me, birdie. I know when someone wants to get burned." 

I can feel his furnace hot breath on my upper lip. I can almost taste his pulse although the music covers it completely. There's very little hesitation in his crimson eyes. There's mischief, amusement, curiousity and slight lust too. 

"Burn me then," I say breathlessly and then everything happens very quickly. 

Our lips meet harshly, hungrily  
His arms grab my waist possesively, squishing our bodies together and I snake my arms around his neck and drag him lower. His tongue pushes my lips and I open my mouth without hesitation and there's a figh of dominance that he clearly wins in the end but not after many efforts. 

We kiss, we bite our lips and there are hands groping and grabbing and feeling and I feel like I need more and more each touch I receive or give. 

When we finally pull away, we are panting like we've run the marathon of our lives. 

Minutes later of heavy breathing and shakily making it to our seats at the bar, I let out a soft whistle. "Wow. Now that was something." 

To be continued...

A.N. Please don't kill me, guys. I just couldn't help it. Apparently, neither could Vladimir. Ahem. Sorry really but Gilbert is very attractive. 

Feuer= (German) fire

Cheers 

Eris


	9. Lots of red and complications

"My computer thinks I'm gay"

-Too many friends, Placebo

You can imagine, perhaps, that the next day I was actually dead. Well not proper dead, but I am not too far from it.

It's 2:23 pm and I am currently lying, face down, on my soft clean mattress. "At last!" I breathe relieved and beyond tired.

Long story short last night was mess. Well, you've probably figured that by now, but I have to make sure. The only good part in this whole deal: my mum is not asking questions.

"Thank God is Saturday!"

So, let's see what the current situation is:

1\. The room is spinning with me? Check.

2\. I can feel parts of my body that I never thought existed? Check.

3\. I can't feel the rest? Check.

4\. I am so tired I can't fall asleep? Check.

5\. If my mum knew of my latest adventures, she'd kill me? Check.

Yeah. That's it, mostly. I took a lengthy shower before crashing into bed and now I am trying to fall asleep, but it doesn't seem to happen too soon.

"Get your lazy out of the bed, idiot!" someone shouts, but I am not so sure about it. "Now! Up, up!"

I jolt up awake and look around the room, but there's no one around. Huh. Strange.

"Uuughh. What's the time anyway?" I ask the air.

I am not sure whether it's morning or night- it's just dark. After searching for my phone for about ten blurry and dizzy minutes, I find it tossed at the bottom of my closet. Hell if I know how it ended up there!

9:29 pm.

I sigh running a hand through my hair. I should head downstairs and eat something or my stomach might start believing my head's been cut off my shoulders.

Groaning and moaning, I finally manage to reach the kitchen where I find my mum cheerfully cooking. I swear that's all she does lately; must be a mum thing.

"Hungry, sweetie?" she asks while chopping carrots. I nod. "Ok, I'll make you something in a moment. Go wash your hands."

Usually, I'd roll my eyes and snark my way to the bathroom and back, but right now I don't feel like it. My throat is sore, but I guess that's what a night of screaming and running does to one.

As soon as I am back, a plate full of mashed potatoes and chicken breast rests calmly and inviting on the table and I don't hesitate to sit down.

My mum has one of her own and she's been eating peacefully for a couple of minutes already when her gaze falls on me.

"Are you alright?" Her voice is soft and casual with a hint of worry. I smile at her.

"Yeah. Just tired. Last night was fun." I try to sound just as relaxed, not wanting to sound too excited or dreamy.

I may not be the most social guy around, but I've read stuff and drawing attention to yourself in situations like these is anything but wise. My mum needs to be as oblivious as possible about everything for both the sake of my freedom and her peace. I know at least that.

"How was it? Aren't you going to tell me more?"

Oh tricky question, but I expected that. I assumed that she might ask this so I prepared a couple of funny stories, most of them true about last night. Be too secretive and she'd never stop doubting you.

"Oh yeah. I made pancakes with this guy. He's super tall and very energetic, but he's actually really nice. And then Gilbert put his feet on the table so I scolded him and made him clean it up, but he wouldn't shut up so his brother hit him and scolded him some more. At some point we danced- Antonio is a really good dj!" I tell her and by the end of it, I actually get caught in the memories and I can feel the corners of my mouth turning up in a smile.

My mother seems intrigued by my words. That's a good sign, in a way.

"And?"

"We played hide-'n'-seek," I supply. We didn't, but she doesn't need to know that. And well in a way we did... only that the cops were the ones seeking. Oh boy.

She arches an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yep. They're a crazy childish bunch."

"Huh. I'm glad you had fun. To be honest, I was a bit worried. But now I know your friends are nice. I'd like to meet them someday."

I pause. I wasn't expecting that. "Sure."

It's not like I could decline. Plus, I'm sure I could get some to behave. She'd love Feli and Matthew, of that I am sure. She'd probably be amused by Matthias and Alfred seeing how those two are a bit similar. Arthur would probably be her favourite though. Student council president and all. Not to mention his polite voice and gracious manners. She doesn't need to know about his job or piercings or his drunk escapades. I wouldn't have believed them if I hadn't seen them myself.

"How was your evening?" Yes, the subject needs to be changed and she doesn't seem to suspect anything.

"Oh, I had dinner at the Balakov's. Maia is such a nice lady. Aleksander surely looked lonely." I mentally cringe at the mention of his name. "Which reminds me..." oh God, this doesn't sound good. "You should really come next time. We're planning to watch a movie. At the cinema." She smiles her gaze becoming dreamy. I clench my jaw.

"When's that?" I am trying very hard not to sound irritated. Very hard.

She pauses for a moment to think. "We were thinking about tomorrow. It's Sunday and then we'd have to wait for five days. Plus, The Hobbit is on until just Tuesday. We can't go on workdays so tomorrow will have to do. I know you like those movies. You have all the books and I thought you'd be delighted."

Oh, fuck me! How could I ever turn that offer down?! She's making the puppy eyes and she clearly has been thinking about me the whole time. Plus, Martin Freeman! And Smaug and Benedict Cumberbatch! Hobbits and elves and dragons! I've read the books for a thousand times. Balakov be damned, I'm so going to watch that film!

"That would be amazing!" I probably sound really excited because my mum's face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Great! So tomorrow it is!" She must be as excited as me. She stops at the doorway and looks at me, "I'm going to book our seats. Front, middle or back?"

I smirk. "Middle, me lady!" And she leaves.

Damn. Tomorrow's going to suck and be awesome at the same time.

Guten Morgen, mein awesome birdie! Was machst du? :)

9:23 am, Sunday 14.09.2014

I'm eating my cereal when I finally read my text. I woke up at 9:59, or more exactly ten minutes ago. I took a five minutes shower and now I am finally eating.

Eating. You?

I type quickly and send the message between munches and light laughter; Gil and his antics.

Im good thanks. Yesterday sucked tho. How were you? Did your mutti give you the third degree? ;-;

I nearly choke. Leave it to Gilbert if you want pure drama.

Nah. She asked questions, but she bought it all. It wasn't like I was lying anyway. I just happened to omit a few things.

Finishing my meal, I stand up and head for the sink to wash the bowl. After I'm done, my phone buzzes again.

You naughty naughty boy ;)

My lips curl in a smirk at his comment.

You know it. :D

I move to the living room and throw myself on the couch with a low grunt.

Oh do I know it. ;) so, have any plans for today?

And that's how, dear reader, my mood dampers in just a matter of seconds. Tonight's movie with Balakov, of all people. Fantastic!

Actually I do. :( going out with my mum and the neighbours. He's a total douche. D:

I sigh and press send.

Aww man that sucks. Where u goin

I bite my lower lip out of boredom. Damn, they're chapped!

To see The Hobbit. :) That's the good part about the whole deal.

Really, if it wasn't for my mum's puppy eyes and Martin playing Bilbo I would've so stayed home.

You like the hobbit?! Man I like you even more now. Can I come? I swear I'll behave. I'll even wear a tie! *puppy eyes*

I laugh. Gilbert in a tie? I can't imagine it.

I'll ask my mum. Btw, puppy eyes don't work on me, idiot

I genuinely don't want to smile, but it seems that my lips have a smile of their own.

"What's got you smiling like that, sweetie?" My mum enquires. Of course she does. Damn.

"Just talking to a friend," I answer. "Oh, by the way, can I bring someone? They really wanna watch this movie."

My mum raises one delicate eyebrow from her armchair.

"Yeah. Sure. Who is it?" For some reason, I don't like her tone. She seems way too curious about the whole deal.

"A friend."

She said you could.

I send the message and put down my phone. My mum is reading on the other side of the room one of those gross romantic novels. I'll never understand how anyone can read those nightmares!

"Does he need a lift?" She asks, gaze cast on her book still.

"He?"

"She?"

Yaaaay. :D

"Nah. I don't think so. Let me ask him."

Do you need a lift?

Silence falls as we both wait for Gilbert to answer.

Nah, im good. Hour? Place?

"When are we going?"

"Maia said she had some business to attend to today, so we're going at 7."

7\. Minions Close. Do wear something nice, but not too nice. She might get suspicious. Also, beware of my neighbour. He bites. :/

Bing!

Oh c'mon he can't be /that/ bad! Anyway see ya there. West is being annoying again so gtg

I chuckle. West is Gilbert's nickname for his brother. The guy thinks he's Prussian, whereas his brother states he's German, so Gilbert calls him 'West' to taunt him.

You used his toothbrush again, didn't you? XD

Bing!

Hey! That happend just once. And no. He just loves complaining about my methods

Somehow this sounds dubious.

Uhuh. Do I even wanna know?

Bing!

Probably not. Anyway, see ya later :*

Damn this idiot.

See ya, idiot ;) :*

I put my phone down and purposely avoid looking at my mum. As far as I can tell, she hasn't looked up from her book, but one can never be too sure.

"Going upstairs to do my homework."

She hums in agreement and I leave without any further hesitation.

Thing is, Gilbert and I are sort of dating. I guess. Yesterday we kissed, but we were quite inebriated, so one might say it meant nothing. If it weren't for yesterday morning, I'd probably stick to the first deduction.

Saturday, 13th September, 8:09 am

Beilschmidt residence

The sun is a dangerous sadistic thing. The sheets, however, are a blessing from everything fluffy and magical, golden and majestic. I rolled on the other side when a sweet scent of pastry hit me and jerked me awake.

Blinking repeatedly, I tried to focus the image and soon I was met with a smiling Gilbert that soon became a grinning Gilbert. He was clad in bluemarine shorts and a loose worn and torn here and there T-shirt.

"Rise 'n' shine, party boy!" he beamed, taking the sheets away from me. Grunting, I rose up and sat on a pillow. "Here. Your food and some medicine to help with that gargantuan headache you must be sporting."

With that being said, he placed a plate full of Greek style cheese and tomatoes, cucumbers and sandwiches with salami and pepperoni and cheddar.

"Thanks."

"Nah. It's fine. It's a surprise you didn't puke your guts out last night. You're a surprisingly heavy drinker, aren't you?" I shrugged.

"You could say. How come you're all sunshine and rainbows anyway? I remember you drinking more than I did." I frowned.

"That's a secret." Winking he sits next to me and takes one of my tomatoes.

And then, there was silence, except from our munching and steady breathing and the occasional bed creaks.

Obviously, I wanted to talk about last night, but frankly, I was terrified. The night before, I kissed a guy. The moments before our first kiss were thrilling, adrenaline pumping through my veins and all the jazz. The actual kiss was something out of this world- it was intense and hungry and mind-blowing. The second one and the one after that and so on, those were just as bad, just as marvelous.

We danced, we kissed and shared drinks. We flirted with each other like there was no tomorrow and we went to his place hand in hand laughing loudly and talking nonsense.

It felt good. It was confusing, yes. But I couldn't deny the truth. I liked it. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but the next day when I remembered, I didn't regret it. I didn't hate it.

I just found it weird. Like my mind wasn't really fully there and something seemed wrong. No, not wrong. Just different. I didn't regret it. I just couldn't wrap my head around me.

So was I gay? Not necessarily. Was I bisexual? Possibly. Did I even like girls or I thought I did? Did I like guys or was it just Gilbert? Or maybe I didn't like guys at all. Maybe it was the alcohol talking.

Naturally, I couldn't ask.

"Any plans for today?" He broke the silence in the end. I stopped to think for a while.

"Not really. But I have to go home soon. I don't want my mum calling me like desperate."

"I see. Well then, I'll take you home," he proposed and I actually I pondered it before I declined his generous offer. "You sure? I don't mind really."

I shook my head in disapproval. "Nah. I'm fine."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

More silence. I wondered if Gilbert remembered. If he did, he surely knew how to act like nothing happened. And maybe that's what it was. Maybe that's how he wanted it to be. A one nightstand with just kissing and flirting, dancing and stolen glances.

Or maybe, just maybe he was afraid to ask.

"I didn't know you could cook," I randomly said at some point, after we left what I found out later was his bedroom and went to the kitchen.

He smiled politely and started piling up dirty plates. "I have a brother, yanno. Some days I had to look after the kid and kids are always needy and noisy." By then his voice had a tint of nostalgia in it. "But I love cooking. It's relaxing sometimes." He turned to look at me and I smiled at him. His eyes were soft and he had a weak smile playing on his lips.

At that exact moment, he appeared tremendously fragile, as if made of porcelain. The sudden urge to stand up and hug him was overwhelming, but somehow I resisted it.

"Cooking is nice." Was all I managed to say and I mentally punched myself for such a stupid line. He didn't seem to mind though.

"You're pretty good at it yourself. "

I chuckled. "I suppose. I can't depend on my mama all the time. I am not some wimp." He laughed.

"True words."

At some point I offered to wash the dishes, but he so vehemently protested, that I had to give up and simply sit down as he did it. He told me silly stories from his past and I shared a part of my crazy adventures with him too. The morning, despite my imminent headache and general nausea, had a pleasant ring to it.

And then I had to leave. Of course he insisted for a dozen of times to give me a lift and I declined just as much and more. In the end, we compromised. I was to take a cab and he'd pay it. Of course that meant more arguing, but he won in the end.

After finally getting out of his apartment, I turned to say goodbye to him, who was leaning against his doorstep.

"So yeah. Thanks...for, uh, everything!" Wow, Vlad, such articulate. Much clever.

"No problem, dude. It was fun."

Enter awkward silence. We simply stared at each other for minutes, none of us daring to move or say something. In the end, his eyes darted to my lips, then up again all questioning and unsure.

And then I knew. Or he did. Or whatever. We kissed. Softer than last night, but still intense. When we broke apart, his fingers were gently grabbing my face, while my left hand was resting on his shoulder.

He smirked mischievously. "I'll call you later, birdie. Take care!"

"You too, idiot!"

We didn't talk yesterday. He was probably trying to get his apartment look like a habitable place and then fell dead. I still don't know whatever the hell is going on.

Ok, so maths it is. Oh boy. I fucking hate geometry!

"Are you ready, honey?" My mum shouts from downstairs.

"In a mo'," I yell back while changing the umpteenth T-shirt already.

There's a knock at the door, before the blasted thing opens revealing my not so pleased mother.

"Red or black?" I ask showing her two t-shirts- one crimson red with a skull on it and one black with "Keep calm and Rock".

Needless to say, she is not amused. "Really, Vlad? What's the big deal. Just pick one and let's go. They're going to be here any minute and you're shirtless!"

"Well I don't want to look ridiculous!"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have the first date fright. I don't even want to know how you'd act then." She rolls her eyes and I refrain from swallowing. Hard. "The red one, now move." I grin and she leaves.

Soon, there's a knock at the door and then muffled greetings. I am descending the stairs actually, shoes already on and jacket on my shoulders, when his cold green eyes meet mine.

"Hello, Mrs. Balakov, Aleksander!" I nod curtly in his direction before looking elsewhere. Anywhere. His mother is smiling kindly at me, unlike her son who is giving me an uninterested check up, probably criticizing me in his head.

"Oh, hello there, Vlad! Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you! And you?" She hums in agreement and with the formalities done, we all look at the door expectingly.

"Well, let's go!" My mother cheers and soon we're all in my mum's car- Balakov The Pest and I in the back, my mum and Mrs. Sweetness in the front. This is going to be the weirdest night of my life, I can sense it already.

Half an hour later, we're queuing for popcorn and there's no sign of Gilbert. I've sent him three messages and still no reply. If I don't get a sign in two minutes, I'll call him.

"Where's your friend?" My mum asks worried.

"I don't know. He's not replying to my messages," I swear I almost sound disappointed. She sighs.

"Maybe you should call him."

I nod and look around, only to lock gazes with Balakov again. For some reason or another, his dark eyebrows are united in quite a frown.

"Who?" He asks all of sudden and instantly, all the eyes are on me.

"Uh..." I begin. What's with all the tention in here? "Gilbert?" And just in a matter of seconds his face turns in an even colder one, my mum's lightens up and Mrs. Balakov keeps smiling, unsure as to why everyone seems to know something she doesn't.

"Yes?" A fifth voice calls, slightly unsure, low and ragged from behind me.

"Gilbert," I say breathlessly as I turn to look at him.

He gives me a small smile, trying so hard not to smirk smugly at me, I realize. It almost makes me chuckle.

"Sorry I am late, the traffic was terrific." He bows slightly in the direction of Mrs. B and my mum.

Oh God! Look at him, acting all proper and using nig words. I would probably be in tears by now if it weren't for the presence of certain people.

Relieving enough, my mothers suspects nothing. "Oh, it's alright, honey! I take it that you're my son's friend, Gilbert, right?" He nods.

Try friend that kisses and flirts with your son.

"Yes, ma'am."

Someone, please, kill me! I haven't practised my poker face in a long while, hopefully I am still ace at it.

"Please, just Iasmina." He nods. "Good. Now this is Mrs. Balakov and her son, Aleksander. I believe you two have met before."

Gilbert looks at the guy as if he haven't even noticed him until then. And he frowns a little, before smiling. "Hey there!"

"Hi!" Balakov so monotonous replies. And that's it. They go on full ignoring each other.

"Alright, boys. It seems that it's finally our turn. So what do you want?

Middle of the room in the middle of the row, Balakov, Gilbert and me, with me in the middle (the irony). Mrs. B and mum are somewhere in the back.

The tention is so thick no sword could ever cut it.

So, let's recap:

1\. Frosty McScrooge hates my Not-Boyfriend for whatever unknown reason; really it could be just an Aleksander thing or maybe Gilbert did something to him in the past. I'll never know.

2\. Gilbert seems strange around him, but then again, Gilbert is a bit strange.

3\. Fuck me! Why do I always have to be caught in weird situations anyway?!

Ten minutes into the film and no quarrel. This doesn't sound too bad. But it's a bit later when the hell breaks loose.

"Martin Freeman sucks!" Balakov suddenly says and both Gilbert and me turn to glare at him. "What? You don't seriously think he's a good actor!" I gasp shocked.

"You so did not!" I begin. "He is a good actor, you uncultured swine!" I rage.

"Seriously? You're dumber than I thought!"

"What did you just say?!" This time it is Gilbert who seems to be out of it.

"That Martin Freeman s-..." but he doesn't get to finish it.

"Shh!" Gilbert cuts in abruptly. "Say that again. Say that again and I will ssssskin you!" I chuckle at the Moriarty reference, whereas Balakov over there doesn't seem to get it or at least care.

"What? That he's dumber than I thought?" He provokes.

"That's it, bitch. You're so gonna regret this!" He is half way up when I grab his arm and look at him pleading. He sighs and sits down in the end.

"That's right, calm your dog, Lupei."

I turn to look at him. Or more like give him the glare of the century. "Shut up, Balakov! No one cares about your opinions. You probably hate everyone and everything, so just shut up." I snarl at him, but he grimaces at my words.

"Oh, leave it to the fools to defend each other. For your information, I don't hate everything, just stupid fucks like you and your dog." I'd slap him so hard right now, but I purse my lips instead.

"Fine. We'll see about that, asshole!" And with that I turn to look at the screen ignoring him completely.

Two or three minutes later, fingers snake around mine gently and unsure and I look at Gilbert with the corner of my eye to find him already staring at me, smiling softly, but also looking sort of mortified. I nearly chuckle at the sight and hold his hand firmly. I can almost hear him sigh in relief and hell if that's not cute.

"How did you like the movie, boys?" Mrs. B asks as soon as we are reunited outside, in the mall.

"Oh, I loved it!" I beam excitedly. "It was even better than what I expected. The next one is going to rock!"

"Oh, yes! Smaug was so awesome!" Gilbert joins in. "I am fire," he imitates the dragon in a low threatening voice.

"I am death!" We say at the same time, our hands trying to resemble claws while facing each other.

"How about you, sweetie?" His mother asks him and then there's a sudden drop of mood.

"It was fine." A pause. "I hated Freeman."

Can I kill him? Surely I'd find a legal way to do it.

His mother chuckles and pats his shoulder.

"He seemed fine. Quite adorable with that long hair and those funny legs!"

"I know right?" My mum sayds and Mrs. B nods. "I hated the dwarves though."

"Tell me about it. Stingy idiots. Using Bilbo and trying to seem heroic!" I add. Both mums nod.

"And trying to slay Smaug too! I'm so tired of this cliche thing. Villains and heroes my ass!" Gilbert bursts only to look like a deer caught in the headlights. "I mean...I, uh, am sorry. Hehe

..he." He laughs nervously. And the women start laughing.

"Oh, hon, it's ok. And you're right."

"Even I can't disagree," I hear Balakov grumpily mumble so I throw an arm around his shoulders and smirk at him.

"See, I knew you'd come around."

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't shake me off. Huh. The power of his mother's presence...!

"Vlad?" Gilbert calls after a while.

"Huh?" I say letting go of him and turning to look at Gilbert.

"Come over here?" He is giving me the puppy eyes. What the hell is with people and puppy eyes lately? I comply anyway. "I had fun tonight," he confesses after a while. We're already outside and it's a bit chilly. Somehow, I just want to creep closer to him and hold his hand, but refrain from doing so- my mum would probably have a heart attack if I did.

"Me too. And sorry about... you know."

He waves his hand dismissively. "Nah. It's fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive," he smirks. "I'll see you at school then or do you want me to pick you up?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and I punch his arm lightly.

"I'm not some princess, you know. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I do know that, birdie. Can't a man just be nice?"

"How nice?" I raise an eyebrow.

Biting his lower lip, he get a bit closer to me and whispers: "I would show you right here, right now, but I doubt you want your Mutter see you suck faces with another guy."

I roll my eyes for the hundreth time tonight. "How eloquent of you, Mr. Beilschmidt!"

"I know."

"Why do I even talk to you?"

"'Cuz I'm awesome?" I give him a disbelieving look and he fakes a pout. "Fine. Deny it all. I know the truth though." He winks at me and I give him a meaningful look. "Right. Gotta go, birdie. See ya!" With a short-lived hug and a brief but friendly wave at anyone, he leaves for his car.

"Ok, everyone, let's go home!"

To be continued...

A.N. Yes, I know. More Gilbert and Vlad love. You lot probably hate me for it, but just bear with it for a little longer. This is a RoBul fic. Vlad is just...well, Vlad. He's a bit confused at the moment.

And Aleksander has an actual reason for acting all bitter and whatnot. Their relationship will improve eventually. They just need time.

Hope you enjoyed it

Eris


	10. OPERATION: In.through.the.window.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert is being an idiot, but Vlad doesn't really mind. Aleksander however is not amused.

"Day's dawning, skins crawling"

-Pure Morning, Placebo

_____________________________

 

"Stop being so anal about it, Art!" That, is Alfred trying to convince the Student Council Pres to tutor him in English. 

"Maybe if you actually paid attention yesterday in class instead of poking me with your pencil the entire duration of it, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" The shorter blonde snarls while stomping his way through the hallway. 

"Oh, c'mon, Artie, don't be mean!" The taller whines as he followes his friend. "You know I get bored by her constant 'blah-blah-blah'!" 

"Not my problem."

"I thought we were friends!" Alfred protests, stopping suddenly. 

Arthur probably senses that and turns to face him. "I'm not your tool, Jones. We are friends, but I said I am busy this week. Find someone else to babysit your arse!" And he stomps in the opposite direction, leaving a baffled crowd behind and a sad-eyed American behind. 

I approach him and pat his shoulder lightly. "I can help you if you want. I might not be as good as him, but I think we can make it work."

His gaze turns on me and he offers me a weak smile. "Thanks, buddy!" 

"No problem. So, are Tuesdays and Wednesdays ok? Mine or yours?" We start walking to class.

"Yep. And where do you live?" He enquires. 

"Private District." 

He pushes the classroom door. "Wow, that's far. I live 10 minutes from the hill so let's go to mine." 

I nod. "It's a deal. 6 pm, tomorrow, your place," I say as I make my way to my seat.

"Aww, man. Cheating on me already? So not cool," Gilbert pouts from atop of my desk. 

I roll my eyes. "Oh, shut it, princess. No one's cheating on anyone here." 

"That's not what I heard!" Francis pops in out of nowhere, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "I heard this little Japanese guy is being caught in some sort of weird...square? with these three beaus," the Frenchman wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Do I even want to know what kind of freaky porn you've been reading last night?" I ask and receive a hurt expression from him. 

"You're being mean, mon amie!" He pouts and I almost feel bad for my comment. "It was a high quality romance novel!" Almost. 

"Uhuh." Gilbert pats his shoulder and leans in closer to him. "You should totally let me borrow it," he whispers but not low enough for me not to hear. 

"Please tell me it wasn't that crap with the abusive douchebag and the stupid girl," I plead and everyone turns to give me questioning looks. "Fifty shades of I suck at writing smut," I supply and some scoff while others nod and chuckle. "I hated it."

"You read it?" Gilbert asks surprised and I nod and make gag noises. "Damn, I knew you were naughty, but wow." 

"Oh shut it, snowflake."

"Ooooh. He's got a backbone, amigo," Antonio pats his back sympathetically. 

And suddenly the bell rings and announces the third period, causing our group to disipate. I have biology right now and it is highly probable that we'll have a test. Before leaving, Gilbert leans in and kisses my forehead lightly. 

"Good luck, birdie!" He whispers and I smile at him before he leaves. 

Today I am sitting next to Matthew. He is quietly doodling on his notepad a fluffy white bear. I must admit, he's quite talented. 

"That's so cute!" I tell him and he looks up with a small smile on his lips. 

"Thanks. His name's Kuma," he informs and I nod. "So, you and Gilbert, huh?" 

My throat dries. What if Matthew hates me now? "Not really." Even to me I sound nervous. Shit. "I mean, we get along well and he's really nice and I..." 

Matthew puts his pencil down and turns to grab my shoulders. "Vlad, calm down. I don't mind." 

I eye him suspiciously. "You don't?" 

Chuckling lightly, he removes his hands from my shoulders and smiles kindly. "You seem happy. And I always thought Gilbert wasn't as tough and bad boy as he wanted to seem." 

"But he's a guy!" I protest which causes him to frown. 

"And?"

"I'm a guy too!" I flail my arms in the air desperately. 

In return, Matthew just gives me one of those strange looks. Like he knows something I don't. "Look. I think he's good for you. If you like whatever you two have, don't end it. So what if he's a guy? It's the feelings that matter, not his willy."

I gasp. "You did not just say willy." Matthew rolls his eyes obviously not amused by my words. 

"I live in England, sue me," he answers in sassy voice and I raise my eyebrows at him. 

"Oh, boy, you can sass! I'm impressed!" I tease. 

"Please. I'm brothers with Alfred." 

"Well that's pretty self-explanatory."

He scoffs. "Tell me about it." It seems that he wants to ask me something, but he doesn't get to because next thing we kmow the door flies open, revealing our sour biology teacher. Goodness gracious, will this hour suck...!

***  
Of course she had to actually test us. And also, there's a high chance I won't pass. 

"Don't be upsetti, have some spaghetti!" Feliciano cheers.

I chuckle. "You just did not say that!"

"Well, it got you to cheer up, so mission accomplished!" 

The cafeteria is packed. My biology classmates all look grim. I wonder why. Pfft. I'm sitting next to Feliciano and his brother, who's occasionally glaring daggers at me and Antonio, who doesn't seem to mind. Also, there's Francis who is having a whispered conversation with Matthew in a corner of the long green table. Alfred and Arthur are just ignoring one another and Gilbert's nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly, Feliciano leans in. "I heard you and Gilbert are dating," he says but honestly, it sounds more like a question than anything. 

Chewing on my lip as if searching for answers there, I finally say. "I don't know, really. I mean he is all sweet and we, uh, kissed a couple of times, but we haven't talked about it," I explain as hushed as possible. 

To my surprise, he nods understanding my situation. "Gilbert's not a bad guy, but he can be weird. More importantly..." now his voice is really conspiratorial, "do you like him? Like like him?" 

It's really rare to see Feliciano have such a serious expression, so it takes me a while to gather my thoughts and formulate an answer. "Yeah, I think I do. But I don't know..." I manage. 

He offers me an understanding smile. "It's fine. You should talk to him. See what he thinks too. If you two like each other, you should go for it." 

"I see." I take in a deep breath. "Still, I'm so confused. It seems right, you know," he nods, "and it feels right, but...I don't get it. I thought I was straight. Completely. But now I suddenly find out I am not. What if my mum finds out? What if she'll hate me? Or worse, my father finds out!" I can already feel the knot in my throat. Oh boy. 

Feliciano too grabs my shoulders. "Vladimiro, calm down. It's going to be fine. If they don't accept you, I'll let you crush at my place. Nono would be delighted to have someone to nag other than my fratello and I," he says jokingly. "I mean it. If anything happens, you can count on me."

"Thank you, Feli!"

"Come on, smile! Everything will be fine. It's highly unlikely that would happen anyway." 

I nod not wanting to think about it any further. 

***

School passed, at last, and now I'm dragging my feet down the hill. May I know who was the genius that thought it would be a great idea to make kids carry a bajilion books?! 

Suddenly, another figure is walking next to me and naturally, like any other normal human being, I turn my head to investigate it. 

"Oh, it's you." I can practically hear the drops of venom dripping from my words. 

"Don't think I'm too delighted to see you, Lupei."

"I don't know. You look like a stalker to me," I explain. 

Balakov just rolls his eyes. "What in the world makes you think I'd stalk someone as stupid as you?!"

"Oh, don't try to sound so offended and innocent. I know you want this booty," I lightly pat my ass and Balakov makes the most mortified face I've ever had the pleasure to see. 

"I'm not some fag!" 

I don't think he could yell higher. "Oh shut it, Scrooge McDenial! You so want me," I tease and wiggle my eyebrows. 

"Oh, God, no. Take your ugly face away from me. Can't I just walk home without you bothering me?" He actually sounds desperate. 

I chuckle devilishly. "No way. You secretly enjoy it anyway." 

Silence. 

"So whatcha doing tonight?" Am I pushing my luck? Hell yes!

"Will you ever shut up?!" 

I frown. "Why would I?" 

He suddenly stops and I do too. "You know what? I don't care anymore. You win. Just leave me alone!" He says strangely calm and stop at the bus station. 

"Is this about last night? Does this have anything to do with Gilbert?" Frankly, I don't know what's gotten into me. For some reason, I feel a strong urge to rub this guy the wrong way. Maybe I'm a sadist? 

"What?! No! I don't care about your stupid dog," he spits.

"Clearly," I mumble, causing Balakov to throw me the glare of the year. "What's the deal with you two anyway? Did he steal your panties or something?"

The brunette grimaces. "Very funny, Lupei." There's a pause before he continues. "He's not who you think he is. You're a fool if you continue your association with him." 

Crossing my arms, I frown. "Why don't you enlighten me then, oh ye' wise one?" I mock. 

"It's not my story to tell." And with that, he takes the bus and leaves me alone in the deserted street. 

With a final glance at the cloudy sky and possible upcoming storm, I fix my backpack on my shoulders and start walking. 

"I don't like this."

***

"You're being awfully quiet tonight. Has something happened?" My mum asks and I shake my head in disapproval. 

"Nope. Just thinking." I stuff my face with a big slice of pizza with pepperoni and sweet corn. 

But I think she doesn't buy it apparently. "You know you can tell me everything, right?" 

"Of course. I'm fine really," I insist. 

"Alright." I don't think she believes me, but I don't say it out loud. "Gilbert seems to be a very polite young man. Don't you think so?" Oh boy. Please don't interrogate me about Gilbert! I nod. "Was it his place the party was held at?" I nod again. "I think you should invite him over for dinner." I almost choke on my pizza. 

"I'll ask him." 

"Great," standing up she takes her plate and drops it in the sink. "I'm going to watch Sex and the city, wanna join?" 

"I'll pass, thanks." 

"Ok. Goodnight then!"

"Goodnight!" 

Having arrived in my room, I immediately lie down on my bed and roll in the blankets until I become a blanket burrito. I'll have you know it's very satisfying. 

This is also the very moment my phone starts buzzing. For God's sake! Can't a guy just sleep nowadays? With an irritated growl, I push myself up from my comfy cocoon and grab my phone from the nightstand.

A message. 

Hiya there mein bird. Can you open your windows pretty please with a cherry on top? *puppy eyes*

I frown. What is he planning this time? Anyway, I comply and go open the windows. 

Sehr gut. Now step aside. 

What the hell?! I do it in the end, albeit reluctantly. And then something swishes, the dying rusty leaves of the trees around the house do. That's also when I spot a mop of white hair and a pair of lips morphed in a stupid grin. 

"Are you out of your mind?!" I yell in a hush tone. He doesn't seem to mind and jumps from the branch to my room. 

Unconsciously, my body immediately hurries next to his side although he looks spectacularly alright- just a few scratches here and there. 

"You stupid fool!" I lightly hit his chest. "Never scare me like that!"   
His lean, but strong arms pull me closer to his chest and with a short-lived sigh, I let him. "Sorry, Vlad, I didn't mean to scare you." His voice is soft and it sounds genuine so I give in and wrap my hand around his waist lightly. 

The musky scent combined with that hint of cinnamon and fresh oceanic notes of hair product hit me pleasantly and I inhale silently, not wanting to seem like a creeper. 

"I need to talk to you," confesses he after a while. 

I breathe, almost shakily, but don't protest and let go of him to go sit on my bed. He follows my example and sits in front of me. 

"Ok. What is it?" It's so hard to sounds relaxed and casual in situations like these. 

"I know it's gonna sound dumb, but I kind of really like you." Oh boy, can I faint? Can I? Pretty please? "So...do you want to be my boyfriend?" By now, Gilbert's usual boisterous voice is just a shy whisper. 

My grin can't get any wider than this, I mean it. But I don't answer him with words and just press my mouth on his and he responds.

At some point between gasps and mild pants, I manage to whisper hotly on his lips: "thought you'd never ask." And apparently that ignited something in him, for he abruptly pushes me against the soft mattress and climbs on top of me, his weight shamelessly crushing my body and I can't help but tangle my fingers in his white locks. 

It's intense and his tongue caresses mine and his hands roam on my clothed back and suddenly it gets hard to breathe, so I gasp for air, but a moan shamelessly escapes my lips as his lips touch the skin of my neck. 

In response, a low possessive groan boils in his throat and damn, is that sexy! 

"We should stop," says he breathlessly, between kisses on my neck and jaw and clavicle. I only manage to hum in agreement. "We should take it slow, Vlad." I hum again. 

"Ok, ok," I say giving in. 

He sits up and I inhale, finally being able to breathe properly, although I must admit his weight on me was hella delicious. Yum! 

"Wanna spend the night?" I ask all of sudden and his eyes widen in surprise. 

"You trust me that much?" He almost sounds shocked, therefore I can't help but frown at his words. 

"Some say you're dangerous, to be frank with you. Many told me not to even talk to you sometime ago, but you're sweet. Maybe you have your secrets, we all do, but you wouldn't hurt me. No one can act all the time, no one could fake certain stuff I've seen in you." Somehow this conversation got serious very fast so I crack a smile and pat the spot next to me. "So stay, please?" I plead pulling off one of my best pair of puppy eyes. 

I can literally see the gears changing in his brain and soon we're both under the blanket eyes on the ceiling. 

"Have you eaten anything?" I happen to ask at some point. I see him shake his head in disapproval with the corner of my eye. "Want me to sneak a snack from the kitchen? I think we have some pizza leftovers from tonight's dinner," I offer scratching my chin thoughtfully trying to rake my brain for other edible things I could fetch him. 

"You sure this is ok?" He asks reluctantly and I wave a hand dismissively. 

"I wouldn't offer if it wasn't. Plus, I can't have my now-boyfriend starve in my house." 

Pale lips curl in a grin. "You seem rather satisfied by the recent events, mein klein birdie," he tries and I soon have a smirk of my own. 

"As if you don't, doofus!" I stick my tongue out as I put my slippers on. "Be back in a mo'. Don't go through my stuff and absolutely do not go out of this room, k?" 

He nods. "Sir, yes, sir!" 

Rolling my eyes, I open the door and leave, closing it behind me. Downstairs, my mum is watching her soap operas undisturbed and unsuspecting of my latest secret guest. Should she know about whatever transpired between said guest and her son under her roof, she'd probably kill us both and hide the bodies in some ingenious way not even Sherlock would find them. Damn.

"You still awake, honey?" She asks at some point while I'm trying to silently search the fridge for food. 

"Uh, yeah?" 

"Something the matter?" She enquires, suddenly standing in the doorstep, all worried and tired. 

"Nope. Just hungry." 

She nods. "Want me to make something?"

"Nah, I'll manage." She narrows her eyes. "I can cook if I really need to."

Shrugging, she turns and goes back to the sofa. "Alright. Just don't forget to put back whatever you don't need." And with that her attention's back to the tv. 

Brilliant! 

***

"Well that was fast!" He says jumping up and down on my bed. 

Frowning, I place the food on the nightstand. "What the devil are you doing?" I demand. 

Only that Gilbert doesn't seem too alarmed by it. "Oh c'mon. Let's jump together!" 

I eye him suspiciously before shrugging and finally joining him. "To hell with it!" Jump- jump. "You know, if my mum catches us, it's totally your fault!" I say grinning. 

"So be it, princess!" 

Sticking my tongue out at him, I say: "Bite me!"

***

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. 

"Oh, make it go away!" I groan as I blindly search for the phone to make it stop ringing like hell bells, but I fail. 

Luckily, someone else does the job so I roll on the other side, pleased to have some peace at last. Or not. Because Gilbert, who else, decides to suddenly be a dick and tickle me to the unpleasant state of wakefulness. Curse him and his stupid dimples and stupid behavior. 

"If you don't move your ass, your mum might come after you and we both know that wouldn't be cute," he chirps near my ear and with a final groan I manage to sit up. 

Trying to blink away my sleepiness, I strech my back as well before saying: "I hate you."

Gilbert, however, doesn't buy it so he gives me one of his cheeky smiles before planting a sweet peck on one of my cheeks. "No, you don't."

I grimace. "You seem so confident."

"Oh, but how can I not? I mean, I'm too loveable and badass and nice not be liked," he states proudly. 

I roll my eyes and proceed to make my bed (for once). "And humble too."

Smiling sheepishly or trying to seem like that at least, he says: "You know it."

After being done arranging my sheets and blanket so it wouldn't look like a troll slept over and had a pillow fight with an orc, I sigh and rest my hands on my naked hips. 

I feel strangely fresh for how little sleep I got last night. Don't make that face, apart from kisses nothing happened. But we talked. A lot. Like half of the night. He's told me tales of his nightly drunk escapades and dubious characters he'd met along the years. It was hard not to wake up the entire neighbourhood with mad laughter. 

At some point, my mum came up upstairs to the bathroom and we nearly had a heart attack at the sound of her feet padding along the hallway. Gilbert actually hid under my bed. It would've been hilarious, was it not for my mum being dangerously close to my room. 

I still took a pic of that. Gilbert pouted for more than ten long minutes. He was cute and very teaseable, or so to speak.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You and your clever self should think of a solution for your grand exit. My mum would deep fry us alive if she ever were to even suspect something," I say hugging myself.

"Oh come on, she doesn't seem that bad!" He protests. 

Giving him a mortified look, I start flailing my arms in the air. "You nuts? I have no idea how she'd react. She's a mother. They're always dramatic." 

He shrugs. "Just kidding, kiddo. I will go just as I came. In-through-the window." He raises his fist in the air and mimics a hero flying. 

I can't help but facepalm. "That's so not a solution." 

"Are you going to completely ignore my pun and also Doctor Who reference?! I'm hurt." He places his hand over his heart and fakes a hurt face. 

"Yes, you dork. Now be serious, what're we gonna do?" I nearly panic.

"Relax, I'm actually serious!"

"That's so not comforting!" I nearly shout.

Gilbert rolls his eyes, totally not impressed. "Calm your tits. I've done this plenty o' times. The worst I got was a sprained ankle. I'll be fine." 

I frown. "If you dare to fucking get a single scratch, I'll personally murder you," I warn.

"Sir, yes, sir!" He salutes and goes near the window. 

I follow him and after he opens the window, he turns and places a sweet gentle kiss on my lips. 

"Take care, idiot," I say and with a grin he jumps on the fucking branch and actually manages it. What the actual hell?! 

Then, there's a knock at the door and I quickly go and draw the curtains before turning to face it.   
"Hey, Vlad! You ok?" My mother asks a bit concerned and I try not to smile nervously. I so hope I managed it. 

"Yep." 

"If you say so. You should hurry up, it's really late." 

To be continued...

A.N. Alright, people. Don't kill me yet. Soon, very soon things will change. And I'll have you know there is an actual reason as to why Vlad is currently sucking faces with Gil, so patience, dear followers, I'll soon start explaining things. 

Cheers

Eris


	11. Precious?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad and Alfred encounter a problem...

"The Road goes ever on and on"

-The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien 

________________________________

"And, like, I totally flipped when I saw him dressed like that. Those shoes with that shirt? Not on my watch, lover boy!" A sleek finger waved in the air gracefully. 

Feliks Łukasiewics, age 19, shoulder length straight blond hair, green eyes, short of stature and clad in a sparkly, almost transparent, mauve blouse, shoulders revealed, and a leather pink skirt. 

"And then, he, like, totally blushed and started to mumble under his breath. That was my cue- I just, like, went up to him and undressed him. He was a total mess!" Feliks continues, gaze lost somewhere in the memories, but a happy smile gracing his features. 

"Heh. Sounds like an adventure," I state, unsure of what to say. 

Apparently, it was the right thing to say, because suddenly Feliks grins and delicately takes one of my hands onto his. "Oh, hon, you should have seen his face. He was like a tomato with eyes!" 

I can't help but laugh. 

"Having fun, guys?" Alfred kicks the door open, Sprite and Cola in both hands and a cheerful grin on his lips. 

The three of us, Alfred, Feliks and me, are sitting in a park in a relatively peaceful neighbourhood. Alfred went upstairs to leave our bags, his and mine, and to bring refreshments. 

"I was just telling Vlad how Toris and I came to be," Feliks quips while he gracefully grabs the Sprite bottle. "And, please, I'm a lady."

At that, Alfred rolls his eyes amused. "More like how you blackmailed him and scarred him for life into being with you."   
With a pout, Feliks throws a peanut at Alfred. "Yeah, yeah. Like he wasn't totally willing, but too shy to admit it." 

I chuckle. Apparently, Feliks and Alfred are neighbours and they have known each other for quite a while already. We were about to go upstairs, when we encountered the crossdressing Polish man. At first, I thought he was a girl. But, damn, can he rock those heels! 

"It would seem that Mrs. Brandon isn't home today," Alfred states and I frown. "The lady above us hates Feliks with a burning passion," he explains and both Feliks and I scoff. 

"Puh-lease. She's just jealous she doesn't got the bod," Feliks smirks devilishly, motioning to his figure, and I burst in laughter. "I bet she was, like, just as fugly and awkward and board-like plain when she was young." 

"You naughty thing!" I say faking surprise while wiping away my tears. 

"You know it." 

Having arrived in front of his door, I finally manage to take a deep breath. "Dude, could you live any higher than that?" I say trying to regain my strength. 

"You jelly cuz you ain't high." And the door creaks open. "So you coming in or what?" Alfred ushers us inside. "Mattie, do we have more of those killer pancakes?" 

There's a crash and then a bang and a string of hushed curses before another door flings open revealing a disheveled Matthew, plaid shirt half unbuttoned. 

"Whaa?" He stumbles upon a stash of magazines- porn, to be precise- and somehow Alfred manages to catch him before he has an unsavoury meeting with the cold hard floor. 

"Dude, you high?" Alfred asks warily. 

"Maybe?" Came the asnwer. 

Alfred sighed. "Was Max with you this morning?" The less sober twin nodded. "Well that explains a lot," he mutters and tries to move him. 

I decide to come to his aid and grab Matthew's other arm. Together, we manage to drag the guy to the nearest flat surface, namely the couch, and we gently lay him there. Meanwhile, Feliks made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water for our wasted maple fan. 

Suddenly, Alfred gets up on his two and marches to a certain blonde's bedroom. And there's yelling. "You worthless piece of trash! I told you not to lay a single fucking finger on my brother ever again!" Alfred spits venomously. 

There's groaning and some incorrigible muttering that sound like slurps from Satan's bowl. "He called me, doofus." The other manages in the end with another groan. "T'ain't my fault he feels lonely." 

By now I can practically imagine Alfred letting out steam out of his beetroot red ears. "You're so dead, I swear!" 

But the other only chuckles, uncaring of what Alfred would do. I throw Feliks a quick glance and he nods, before bolting through the door. Alfred is holding a half conscious man's shirt while said man has a taunting smile on his face. 

"Everybody calm down!" I try to sounds as firm and intimidating as possible and apparently it has some sort of effect, at least on Alfred, because he drops the man to the ground and walks angrily past me. "You ok?"

The man groans some more and takes my hand. "Thanks, man!" I try to help him up but he must weigh a shiton or so. 

So I somehow toss, not toss, him onto the unmade bed and leave. "Shout if you need anything." But I think he was already asleep.

In the living room Matthew was lying on the sofa, gaze lost somewhere on the ceiling. Feliks was sitting on the floor next to him with a concerned expression. Alfred was pacing and cursing like a sailor in the kitchen. 

"Is he going to be ok?" I murmur.   
Feliks rises his gaze to meet mine. "Which one?" 

I puff. "Good question. Both?"

Feliks sighs and gently put a lock of hair behind his ear. "Matt is going to be fine, eventually. I've seen him worse. But Alfred is livid. It's not every day you see that sunshine turn into Hulk." 

I sigh and sit on the floor too. "Should I talk to him?" 

Feliks shakes his head in disapproval. "Nah. At this point he wouldn't listen, even if you offered to buy him a whole McDonald's and a Burger King on top." I nod. "They'll be fine. Alfred loves his brother. He'd do anything for him, but I suppose he can't do everything." Feliks sighs some more. 

"What made him do it?" I vaguely know I shouldn't pry, but this is me we're talking about. 

The blonde shrugs. "I suppose loneliness? I don't know Matt that well. Our worlds don't really collide or something like that. He's always kept to himself, you see. Unlike his brother, he'd quietly stay in a corner and watch everyone interact." 

Suddenly I feel like beating myself. "I should've been there for him! I told him I'd be his friend, yet I failed. I didn't do too much of a great job." I don't want to say this out loud, but the words leave my mouth nonetheless. 

Suddenly there's a hand on my shoulder. Blue pools gaze sympathetically in my direction. "It's not your fault. I am his brother. I failed him." 

"No, you didn't," I say firmly grabbing his shoulder. "You're a nice young man, Alfred. I bet Matthew thinks so too." 

The taller blonde shakes his head. "He doesn't like me." 

"No, he does." Alfred clenches his jaw. "Look, let's order Chinese. Maybe watch a movie. Or play a game or something. Tutoring can wait." 

It seems like he's considering it for a while before he nods. "Chinese it is then." And he gets up. 

*** 

"How about we call in some more people?" Feliks suddenly proposes shortly after Alfred is done with the food call. The American shrugs. 

"It wouldn't hurt. We can have a mini party or something like that in the middle of the week. I'll call Mathias and Gil." 

"Good. I'll call Toris," Feliks states before taking out his pink phone and dialing his boyfriend's number. 

"Then I'll call the Vargas brothers and Arthur." 

Ten minutes later, the door started to shake dangerously. Only a single person on this planet would try to fuck up a door. Gilbert. 

"Guten Abend, mein awesome friend!" He greets as he hugs his American friend. "I brought beer to lighten up this grim evening of Tuesday!" He places six bottles of beer on floor, before turning to look at me.

"I though we weren't drinking?" At this, the self-proclaimed Prussian smirks. 

"Ain't no night a night without a bottle o' beer!" 

I roll my eyes. "Come here, you dork." I open my arms to hug him and he happily complies. "I missed your stupid ass. Why didn't you come to school today, eh?" I enquire hitting his shoulder playfully. 

"You see, this 'n' that," he explains and plants a peck on my lips. Only that I'm not amused. "Oh, come on, birdie, what's with the look?" 

"I was actually worried, you dick!" 

"Don't pout, birdie. I just fell asleep." I can't help but give him a suspicious look. "Really. Scouts honor."

"Dude, you were never a scout," Mathias pops in with an equally unimpressed face. 

"Shut it, bird nest hair!" 

We all started laughing at that one.

***

In the end, the flat was packed. The Vargases are here, accompanied by a lively Spaniard and a stoic German, Arthur and a kid named Collin, Francis, came too, a tall, imposing guy named Berwald that looks like the even more annoyed brother of Ludwig and a really sweet guy named Tino. Also, Toris and the rest of the gang as well. 

Matthew is still dead asleep on the couch, completely unfazed by the ruckus around him. Same for the guy in the other room. 

We're watching Avengers, or we should be doing that, but we're more like discussing stuff tremendously loud. 

"I'm bored!" Suddenly, Feliks shouts and everyone shuts up and looks at him. 

There's silence and everyone is waiting for something to happen. "He has a point, you know," says Francis in the end. 

"As much as I hate to agree with you, you're right," Arthur states from the other part of the room. 

"Hmm, we should do something stupid!" Gilbert shouts while jumping up and down on one of the armchairs. 

"That, honestly, doesn't sound healthy," Toris mumbles not as low as he thought. 

"I say we do prank calls...on people we hate!" Matthew suddenly shouts, wide awake now, leaving the whole room shocked. "What? I think Mrs. Brandon should finally get some payment for that pair of awesome jeans she ruined last month!" 

This can't end good.

"Weren't you like dead two minutes ago?" Francis asks the question we all dreaded. 

Matthew shrugs. "Yeah, but it's no fun. Besides, I wasn't actually stoned. Just a bit, a tiny little bit tired." 

By now, it's hard to tell whether Alfred is fuming or simply shocked. "Then what is that asshole doing here?" He points in the general direction of the room in which the mysterious man with dreads sleeps. 

"He was bored, I didn't know what to do, so I called him here," Matthew states as a matter of fact. But Alfred doesn't seem too believing and the other brother doesn't seem too pleased with that. "Look, everyone knows I'm terrible when I'm tired. Plus, I don't even smell of weed. Max is off too. He's been clean for quite a while." 

There's shock written on Alfred's face. "He has?" 

"Duuh!"

A confused stare and a frown graces his features. "How come I didn't know about this?" 

It takes a lot of effort for Matthew not to grimace, everyone can see it. "Because you never asked. Now, are we doing those prank calls or what?" 

Clearly, it's not an usual sight an angry, bossy and firm Matthew, therefore everyone pretends to search for their phone or mainly something to do. 

"It kind of sucks Shitty Beard is already here. I don't hate anyone as bad as him," announces Arthur slightly amused and pleased with his latest statement, if the devilish grin and mischief dancing in his lime green eyes is anything to go by. 

Hearing these words, said Frenchman gets up from his chair and puts a hand over where his heart would be and fakes a dramatic gasp. 

"Mon amour, you don't really mean zhat!" 

Arthur raises one of his prominent, dark eyebrows, as if trying to challenge him. 

"Non?" Now Francis falls on his knees in the middle of the people gathered around in the form of a slightly handicapped circle, face towards our troublemaker. His eyes suddenly widen and he starts pouting, lower lip slightly trembling. Yes, my dear friends, he is making the puppy eyes. 

"Oh, take your ugly shit you call face away from my sight! We're getting a divorce anyway," he mocks, completely unaffected by Francis' ultimate weapon. 

It is one of their many jokes, the one about the divorce. Surprisingly enough, Francis Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland are childhood friends...of sorts. Or maybe the term I am looking for isn't exactly friends, per see, but frenemies. 

Neither friends, nor foes, the two of them fall into a weird place on the scale of human interpersonal relationships. For example, they would usually mock and insult each other to no end, but in time of dire need, they'd actually lend a hand and be the other's crutch.

Sometimes, to gross out people or simply to disgust one another, they'd act like the couple of the year, but most of all they're always on the edge of break up. Hence the divorce. 

"I really want to prank that jackass next door!" I abruptly declare. 

The rest of the room is confused, save for Gilbert whose eyes somehow shine with understanding and...is that admiration I see? "You mean Frigid Mc-I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass-so-high-I-see-stars asshole next door?" He offers. 

Chuckling, I manage to give him a nod. "One hell of a long name, but yes. He's the one." I scroll through my contacts searching for the Bulgarian peach we all seem to love. "It seems that I don't have his number. Shame, he deserved a bit of that extraterrestrial thing called fun."

"You mean Balakov?" A voice suddenly pierces the air. Arthur raises to his feet and crosses the room towards me. "Here." He offers me his phone. 

I eye both the guy and the phone suspiciously before taking it. I mean it's quite impressive that he managed to guess who I was talking about by simply insulting the guy. "You know each other?"

He stops to ponder it for a while. "Vaguely, yes." I must be making a pretty freaked out face, because the next thing he says is: "What? He owes me one." 

"What, Scrooge pranked you?!" I nearly gasp in horror. 

At this, the Brit chuckles. "Hell no! I just happened to help him once." 

"Dude, did you two hide a body, steal a soul or some dark shit?" Gilbert asks. But the blonde just smirks mischievously and the subject is changed. "Right." 

"So, who wants a piece of stuck up, narrow-minded guy?" Hands are up in the air. I give the phone to Matthew. 

"Oh, boy. He'll suffer. Berwald?" The tall guy nods. "I think you should do this one afterwards." Yet again, the guy nods. 

BEEP... BEEP...

Matthew is holding the phone, screen up and on speaker. Everyone is silent. 

BEEP... BEEP...

Please, pick up. Please, pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up the damned phone!

"Yes?" On the other side, Balakov's confused and slightly tired voice says. 

Clearing his throat, Berwald leans in and says in a perfect Smeagol voice: "Is this precious? We needs the precious."

To be continued...

A.N. The RoBul will come. I'm trying to make the chapters as eventful as possible so yeah. I totally love Feliks. And Matthew. 

Oh, yes, I am a Lotr fan. Watched the movies a couple of times and now reading the books. #sorrynotsorry. Also, Doctor Who fan. 

Cheers

Eris


	12. The war: Part 1- Fabianus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys are being stupid...again.

The war

Part 1:

Fabianus

"Holding me back 'cause I'm striving to be

Better than you"

-Better than you, Metallica

"Hello. Who's this?" Sounds the voice on the other side. 

The room falls silent. This is no mistake- Balakov just picked up and he doesn't seem too pleased about it. Not that he ever does anyway.

Berwald clears his throat. "I've taken the item, but there was unexpected turn. Now I need to get rid of the body," he says in a grave, yet slightly worried voice.

A short pause. "And?" I frown. What the hell? Is he not fazed at all by it? Not even annoyed?

"And I need your help," he demands impatiently. 

There's a sigh. "Hmm. Do you have a dog?" His voice sounds thoughtful and stern. 

"No...?" Confusion. 

"Then take it to the woods, burn it and bury the remains. Also, cover the spot afterwards," he says as a matter of fact. 

"Are you sure this is gonna work, mate?" Berwald's accent is a killer. It's hard not to laugh at his grimace.

Balakov scoffs. "Pfft. Of course. It would've been better if you had dogs, because you could have fed it to them, but this should work as well. Just try not to be seen," he instructs. 

"Uhuh. Alright. Thanks, mate!" Cheerfully, he tells Balakov. 

"My pleasure. Now, do you have other business with me or can I end the call? I am a bit busy," he urges. 

"No." 

The call ends. It leaves me feel dirty and used. The little shit beat us at our own game. The nerve! Everyone seems to be a bit bitter about it.

"I didn't expect that," I confess in the end. 

Gilbert pats my shoulder sympathetically and sighs. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that no one expected him to be so cool about it."

There's a general approval from the other guests. "I think it's clear this calls for a prank war!" The Dane almost shouts, determined to do something about his now bruised ego. 

Berwald nods. And Alfred gives Mathias a high five. Soon everyone is very loud and showing interest in the upcoming prank war. 

"But isn't it unfair? 14 against 1 hardly makes it a war," Matthew states, eyebrows raised and worry written on his face. 

"Make it 15," announces another voice and all heads turn to look at its owner. 

The man, can I say, is probably in his early twenties, dark skinned and dressed as if summer is about to come. Sleepiness is written all over, but his voice is low and firm, so no one says anything. No one, apart from Alfred, that is. 

"No one asked you," he snarls at the guy, but said guy doesn't seem too impressed with Alfred's rather venomous tone. 

"Well, surely no one asked you either." 

"Oh really? Tell me more," Alfred challenges.

Suddenly, Matthew is up to his feet and between the two of them. "Stop it, guys. Max is my friend, Alfred, so if he wants to join the prank war, he will," he tells his brother firmly. "Of course, if the rest of the group is ok with it," he adds shyly looking around. 

"Oh, mon chere, of course!"

"Si, si. We're all friends here after all!" Feli cheers.

"Mmkay."

"Tch. I don't give two shits. I just want revenge on that fucker. I heard he made Feli cry the other day," Lovino hisses. 

"Of course, of course, mah man!" Both Mathias and Gilbert stand up and put their arms around the guy's shoulder as if they are trying to rope him into something shady. 

"Totally. You and your maple cutie should spend more quality time together," Feliks says. 

"Feliks!" Toris protests. 

Said male gives him a bored look before saying, "What?"

"But I don't want any part in this!" His voice although low, renders the whole group mute. Ludwig is keeping his stern face as everyone eyes him like he grew another head.

"What nonsense are you spewing there, West?" Gilbert nearly shouts in bewilderment. 

One does not simply tell King of Pranks and Tomfoolery Gilbert they are not willing to attend the ultimate prank war. That's how Gilbert's simple sentence sounds in 'Gilbertian'. I swear he has his own language. 

Apparently, Ludwig gets it too because next thing we know, he sigh in defeat and nods. "Fine." As in "someone needs to keep you guys out of jail." 

"Yaay!" Feliciano beams and I can't help but smile at how happy the guy looks. 

"Any ideas?" Antonio asks making us all focus on the task at hand. 

"I say we blast his ears with death metal at 3 am," the innocent-looking guy next to Berwald proposes. Half of the room looks at him shocked. But the blonde just smiles gingerly. 

"That could be an idea," I speak. "But my house is the only one around in miles, so he would suspect me. We don't exactly get along." 

"Just your mums," Gilbert teases and I groan. 

"Don't even get me started on that." I groan. 

"How about stealing something of his?" Feliciano says and now the shocked faces turn to him. "What?"

"I say we swap his notebook with one with a shitton of wrong answers!" Lovino evily says while grinning. 

"Oh, boy, yusss! He loves maths. I say we forge a notebook just like you said," I say excitedly. 

"No need to forge one, amigo. My maths is crap. I can give you my notebook from last year. It has a lot of incomplete to completely absent homework and lessons. Msr. T. will have a stroke when she sees it. I didn't give it to her last year." Antonio's gaze is lost somewhere past us. 

"How did you even manage to trick the hag?" Gilbert frowns.

At this, the Spaniard gives him a prideful smirk and puffs. "Please. She couldn't stand to see me, remember? So I did all of us a favor and skipped more than half of her classes. The principal wasn't too happy about it, but he let it slip. I bet he hates Mrs. T. too. Dunno why he hired her though." 

"Alright. Your notebook of horrors it is then," Mathias concludes. "Who will be the thief though?" 

At this, Gilbert and I exchange looks, both thinking about The Hobbit and our more or less happy not-date. 

But, incidentally, the rest of the room looks at me as well and I start shaking my head vehemently. "Absolutely no!"

"Oui, oui. Why not?"

"Cuz he'll know it was me. I'll distract his attention if needed, but I need to be somewhat clean."

"I'll do it." All heads snap in Matthew's direction. "I'm silent and nice. No one would suspect me. Tino too. You will distract him if needed. This way he'll never suspect anything." 

Gilbert whistles. "Man, I never pegged you for the evil mastermind. Next thing we know, you're actually Loki and are plotting to take over the world." 

Matthew smiles sheepishly. "Maybe I've already done that." 

"Damn, you good," Mathias supplies. "Also, good plan. Who's for, hands up." 

Everyone's hands are up. It seems Balakov went against the wrong people. 

"Good. Let's prepare for this. Is. Waaaaaar!" Alfred shouts and somehow everyone is tackling everybody to the floor. 

***

Dragging myself across the hallway, I try not to give up and sit on the cold floor. Whoever thought going up and down the stairs of the apartment complex  
seven times can eat my clothes. Oh right, that was Gilbert's uninspired dare. Ugh, sometimes I wonder why am I even friends with that evil son of a bitch. 

"You alright, Vladimiro? You look kind of green," Feli asks worried that I'll probably pass out on the floor and then he'll have to carry my body to the infirmary, which is two floors downwards and the school doesn't have an elevator. 

As you can see, I already have more than half of the scenario all sketched in my mind. I'm just waiting for the right moment. 

I groan in response. "You know, as much as I like the bastard, sometimes I wonder why I even talk to him." We turn right and I remember that there still is a lot more to go so I sigh. "My legs hurt like I've been run down by a train. Twice," I complain, flailing my arms around dramatically. 

Feli just chuckles and offers me a kind smile. "He can be a bit rough around the edges, indeed, but he is nice if he wants to."

I nod. Feli's right. Gilbert likes to play it cool and tough, but he can be such a soft guy sometimes. "I just hope that his brother is not like him though." Feli frowns. "You know. For your sake, I mean. You like the guy, right?" Seeing his slightly dejected face I start panicking. Have I said something I shouldn't have?

"Si." I exhale. "But he doesn't like me." Now it's my time to frown. "I know he seems brash and stoic, but he's really really nice if you get to know him better. He loves dogs and most dogs seem to love him back instantly. He is smart and attentive and oh, so very straight." The last part has both of us looking sad. 

"Are you sure?" It's not fair, really. Feliciano is super nice and cute and he deserves to be happy just for how much shit he must be putting up with daily from ignorants like Balakov. 

Feli nods. "Well, I don't think he is. I tried asking him about his girlfriend to see if he has one or, you know, but he got all flustered and started mumbling stuff, so I dropped it off." He sighs. 

"Maybe you should try to talk to him though," I offer. I feel bad knowing there's next to nothing I can do for him. "How long have you know each other?" 

His face lights up a little. "Oh, we go way back. We met in Italy. He was on a holiday there, I was working at my Nonno's restaurant before he went back to teaching. He came every summer and stayed for a month or so. He was a regular and, somehow, we ended up talking."   
"Aw, that's nice."

"Yep."

Then suddenly, an awesome idea strikes me. "I should ask Gilbert if he knows anything about Ludwig's love life! They're brothers after all and Gilbert loves sticking his nose in his brother's business. Surely he knows a thing or two about it!" 

Feli's expression lightens up evrn more. "Really?"

I nod. "Absolutely!" Next thing I know I'm being pulled in a tight hug by Feliciano who wouldn't stop thanking me. "It's ok, really."

"Grazie, my friend! I can't thank you enough." 

I smile and soon we're in the classroom and I'm not mentally prepared for school. 

***

"Hallo, birdie!" Gilbert greets as soon as I enter the cafeteria. 

With a groan, I start dragging my feet in his direction. "Fuck you, Gilbert."

He raises both eyebrows at my sudden outburst. "Well, that escalated quickly." I glare at him and he chuckles. "Sorry about yesterday. I probably overdid it."

I roll my eyes. "Tch. Yeah. Understatement of the fucking century."

"Want me to stop by tonight? I can give you a massage," he offers wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

I nearly consider it. "Through the window?" 

Gilbert's lips curl in a grin. "I could use the front door, but then your mum would know." Silence. "Well, think about it. I don't care as long as I get to spend time with you." 

I smile. "You sappy shit." 

"Shh. Don't let others know." 

I roll my eyes but say nothing. Then I look around and discover Ludwig is not around. Hmm. 

"Where's your brother?" 

"Why, cheating on me already?" I give him a look. "Who knows. Well, actually, he caught a cold. Why?" 

I creep closer. "What do you know about his love life?" I whisper. 

Gilbert gasps. "So you are cheating on me! I can't believe it. And with mein Brüder on top of it! Please tell me that at least he's the top!" 

I frown. "What the hell?! No!" 

"You mean he bottoms?!"

I roll my eyes. "No, you dork. Now will you let me finish what I want to say?" He nods. "Good. So you know Feli? He has a crush on your brother." 

"Oh, that."

"You knew?" 

"I'm not my brother. The whole city suspects something, at least. But not Ludwig. No. He is completely oblivious." Gilbert sighs and shakes his head in disapproval. 

"But does Feli stand a chance then?" This doesn't sound good at all. 

He shrugs. "He claims to be straight, but honestly no straight man bakes as much as he does," he says almost bored as he stuffs his face with chips. 

"He bakes?" I ask incredulously. No way. 

Gilbert nods. "That's what I am trying to say. Feli has no choice but to insist. Hopefully, my brother will realize his feelings for him." 

"Kay. Thanks." 

Gilbert grins and pecks my cheek. "I was expecting this. Sort of. So, can I come to yours tonight?" 

I roll my eyes. "If you're a good boy, I might consider it," I tease causing him to pout. 

The bell rings summoning all of us back to class. Motherfucker. 

"See ya!" And we part ways. 

On my painful way to class, I run into both Matthew and Feliciano. Feli is cheerfully discussing his art project while Matthew listens carefully and nods occasionally. 

"Hey, guys!" The two of them turn to look at me and smile. "So, I might have news, Feli," I start unsure of what to do- Matthew probably doesn't know Feliciano liked guys, although it probably doesn't matter. 

"Oh? Tell me!" 

Well I suppose it's ok since he doesn't seem to mind it. "I talked to Gilbert," at this Matthew perks up, "and he said Ludwig is kind of oblivious when it comes to these things. You'll probably have to push him out of his shell, but Gilbert thinks you might have a chance."

Feliciano's mood drops for a second, but then he gives me a soft smile. "I figured this would be the best case scenario. Thank you for asking though."

"Don't you worry. Your German guy probably likes you more than you think," Matthew cheers a coy smile on his lips. "Don't give me that look, you two, Ludwig and you are meant for each other. I was wondering when I'd see it happening." 

Feli sighs. "It seems everyone knows except for him, eh." Both of us path his back in sympathy. 

As we enter the classroom various heads turn our direction mostly worried that we were the teacher. Matthew leans in and whispers: "Operation Fabianus is a go," and he vanishes. I occupy a seat near Feliciano and rummage through my stuff, peaking with the corner of my eye as Tino Väinämöinen approaches Balakov's desk with an innocent and slightly worried expression. 

He starts talking and Matthew approaches him from behind and slips his hands in his already opened backpack. I bite my lower lip as Matthew searches carefully. In the end, he finds it and takes it. 

But Balakov feels something and panicked, I shoot up on my feet and climb up a desk while screaming like Tarzan. Balakov is instantly distracted and Matthew manages to switch the notebooks. 

Only, while during my diversion, the teacher enters the classroom and catches me in the act. Fuck...

To be continued...

A.N. Poor Vlad. XD 

Cheers

Eris

**Author's Note:**

> *Manele=(from Romanian, fem. sg. manea; pl. manele, the plural form being more common) is a music style from Romania.
> 
> **Amice=friend
> 
> ***Nu ştiu= I don't know.
> 
> ****La naiba!=To hell! or Fuck!


End file.
